tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91006275850910783932024-03-13T21:43:56.167-07:00GrannyBoogies on the highway of life!The life and adventures of a senior woman looking for her last Love. Is there sex after 70? Do senior dating services work? Will Granny find her soul mate?Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-51488620326989726452009-12-01T17:43:00.000-08:002009-12-01T17:43:08.017-08:00Update from Ellie!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Hi Everybody! It’s me Ellie!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">As I promised I am sending more pictures!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Now I get to share with you some pictures of some of the rest of my family.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Uncle Paul is my Mommy’s older brother</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Aunt Kathy is my Uncle Paul’s nice wife</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Matthew is my cousin – he is a big boy because he is 5 years old</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sarah is also my cousin. She will be 17 months old on December 7<sup>th</sup></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Some of you may not know but Sarah and I have some things in common. Sarah had open heart surgery too. They didn’t know she had any problems until she was about 3 months old. She had 3 holes in her heart! She was able to go home from the hospital after about a week. She should not have to have any more surgeries like me. I am sooooo happy for her</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We are also alike cause we need to catch up to what other babies are doing at our age. Sarah is doing a great job! She had some early intervention but doesn’t even need it anymore. Go Sarah! I will start early intervention soon.<span> </span>I am going to follow Sarah’s example and get stronger </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span>J</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">!</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I am so grateful to God for my family! </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Enjoy the pictures – I will send more right away!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Snuggles and God bless,</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Ellie</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3vKAdKTZX3kNKanl8W_a7wsKLICYjJ9LjVbsQOG4o3-OZ0qtxihe27_ya2wSRvt6DLUyJ20ci75ETkSKSvmgNF3Fk1LbZFiXElGRvlslhYVEjYJs2QFoCwWiQKuZg1JH0hIISgpUThQ/s1600/Bath+time.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3vKAdKTZX3kNKanl8W_a7wsKLICYjJ9LjVbsQOG4o3-OZ0qtxihe27_ya2wSRvt6DLUyJ20ci75ETkSKSvmgNF3Fk1LbZFiXElGRvlslhYVEjYJs2QFoCwWiQKuZg1JH0hIISgpUThQ/s320/Bath+time.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9J7FbWimHppbeEyXNCi5ySg8MMchJW6DuRFaGkzvcaOZttMctKUwVpeOEFlqkfWjXFamXSNDsxAfZp1o1V1IEocGro58-B28n8nDBokywj_4l0m9i5ROPK95RAYF5AM96rknrpELA6M/s1600/family.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9J7FbWimHppbeEyXNCi5ySg8MMchJW6DuRFaGkzvcaOZttMctKUwVpeOEFlqkfWjXFamXSNDsxAfZp1o1V1IEocGro58-B28n8nDBokywj_4l0m9i5ROPK95RAYF5AM96rknrpELA6M/s320/family.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDprI6mxw__u0-BLyNIa4eRALTo5GVVQRkdjJJVszQsSDOu1S-9JcmFob0dVwBsI1aLsEd_rehhLMBe9JH9xYvZx2fWVfo0LnNEaaWZEqt0dzp6laAm4mwQY_mFwz9YEaF5e059Bq7bBA/s1600/Grampa+and+Sarah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDprI6mxw__u0-BLyNIa4eRALTo5GVVQRkdjJJVszQsSDOu1S-9JcmFob0dVwBsI1aLsEd_rehhLMBe9JH9xYvZx2fWVfo0LnNEaaWZEqt0dzp6laAm4mwQY_mFwz9YEaF5e059Bq7bBA/s320/Grampa+and+Sarah.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZBCJzxM58xKCPFusGdNvtVKodW3raFp-22OnsGmCge1obdI3l77yVsl0bIQkcYTnlssauJtbr2Oujt4mUVVBMaKOY-Dr-1puyNXSN3z2yAUWXrPmrcbYYqt7NzxbiqSbdmaCHsxxAbQ/s1600/swimming+and+pomegranates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZBCJzxM58xKCPFusGdNvtVKodW3raFp-22OnsGmCge1obdI3l77yVsl0bIQkcYTnlssauJtbr2Oujt4mUVVBMaKOY-Dr-1puyNXSN3z2yAUWXrPmrcbYYqt7NzxbiqSbdmaCHsxxAbQ/s320/swimming+and+pomegranates.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Hi Everybody</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Whew! This is a lot of emails in one day. If you want more pictures let me know cause maybe some of you have seen enough.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Now is water time fun!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Grampa and Matt went swimming - it was really too cold but they had fun and every time Matt went he are pomegranates from Gramma and Grandpa’s trees They must be yummy but I will have to wait and try them when I grow up more.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Matt and Sarah also got to play in the bathtub!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I got a bath too but by myself! Then Mommy put a duck towel all around me. I hope I don't look too silly!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The last picture is my Uncle Paul and my cousins. I couldn't find another picture with them and my Aunt Kathy. We were going to take ore pictures on Thanksgiving but I guess we didn't...</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">KINDA SAD NEWS. Now this is just sad for now and not serious like health problems. I just want you all to know that I was sooo looking forward to meeting as many of you as I could. Mommy and Daddy were gonna have a party for me.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> BUT I have to be very very careful. I think I was lucky to see my cousin and their Mommy and Daddy. They were not allowed to touch me or my toys (really I would have shared). Well since then all the doctors and nurses have told Mommy and Daddy not to take me out and not to expose me to lots of people (really I always have clothes on!). I guess they don't mean to be mean - it just makes me sad. </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">There are shots I cannot take cause they are alive (don't know what that means...). Anyway, I guess after flu season (I think that lasts a loooong time) is over I will be able to have a party and meet some of you...I am so sad and sorry... But I can wait and I am looking forward to the day we can celebrate together what God has done and the success of your prayers! I am lucky that I get to see Gramma and Grampa :-)</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Meanwhile I will try my very best to stay healthy and to grow big and strong!! </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I will also keep sending pictures and little updates. If anyone wants to see more pictures for Thanksgiving time please let me know.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Please keep praying for me and my family. God really does listen and we are all very grateful. God has healed me sooo much and I am blessed again by God and you every time I get to feel a snuggle - thank you so very much.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.5pt;">We give thanks to you, O God, <br />
we give thanks, for your Name is near; <br />
men tell of your wonderful deeds. Psalm 75:1</span></i><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Snuggles and God bless you and those you love,</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Ellie</span><br />
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</div>Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-22018003974550880212009-11-29T12:53:00.001-08:002009-12-01T17:14:13.092-08:00So Many Books...In my search for my soul mate, I have an condition which says "HE MUST READ BOOKS." I could not partner with a man who didn't read. OK, maybe he could watch some sports and I certainly would join him if he watched the ponies run but he must read. I can share more than one type of passion in my bed!.<br />
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So what's new from the pile beside my bed:<br />
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I just finished "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. What a read! I can't believe that this is her first novel. It is multilayered and multivoiced as the story is told both in the present and in the past. One spring evening, a scholar is working alone in his carrel at the University library, when he notices a book among his textbooks, which he has never seen before. He opens the aged pale leather end covers and the book falls open at it's very center. Across the two center pages is the woodcut of a great dragon, having spread wings, a looped tail and taloned claws holding a banner. A single word was printed on the banner in Gothic script: "DRAKULYA". Thus the reader is sucked into a complex tale, that swirls from the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire through today, whatever today may be. It is history? fantasy? Or maybe even real? That is for you, dear reader, to determine. I give this book five stars. I read night and day until I reached the end and then I sat back and took a deep breath! Wow, I loved it.<br />
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So let us glide silently thru the night on lightly furred wings, guided by our trusty sonar beeps.For your consideration: "The Society of S" by Susan Hubbard. A young girl, Ariella, lives in an old Victorian home in Saratoga Springs, New York, with her father. Her mother disappeared shortly after her birth. She is home schooled by her father and mothered by the housekeeper, Mrs. McGarritt, who has a family of her own. Her dark and handsome father, Raphael Montero, has a biomedical research company housed in the basement where he worked with two assistants, Dennis, a former medical student and a mysterious Mrs. Root.<br />
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One day she is allowed to go home with Mrs. McGarrit. She has never been with a family before, never seen television or movies, never heard anything but classical music and it is another world for her.Slowly, she is allowed to see more and more of the world outside her home and her questions about her sheltered life and her father begin. She becomes best friends with Mrs. McGarrit's daughter, Kathleen, and they share small adventures during the long hot summer. One day Kathleen takes some photos of the house, Ari and her father. When the film is developed, the girls discover something strange. The photo's of Ari are blurred and the picture of her father sitting in his favorite chair, shows only the chair! <br />
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Is Raphael Montero a vampire? And if he is, what is Ariella? Well, you will have to read the book for yourself. I enjoyed it as I also enjoyed the second book continuing the tale: "The Year of Disappearances". The author describes her books as "ethical Vampire novels" and they are worth a read.<br />
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Probably one of the most popular Vampire series is the Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) series by Charlaine Harris, which is up to nine books at present. I confess that I have only read a couple but they are like popcorn, you just lick the butter and salt off your lips and read one after another. They are light and amusing without being filling. Sookie is sexy and kookie! Great for nights when you can't sleep and don't want anything serious.<br />
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Charlaine Harris may be familar to you as the author of the Aurora Teagarden mystery series. She has also produced two other character series: Lily Bard, a young woman living a normal happy life, when she is kidnapped, assaulted and disfigured. Now all she wants is to be left alone. She moved to the quiet little town of Shakespeare and begins a life cleaning other people's homes. Alas, trouble seems to seek Lily. There are five books in this series: "Shakespeare's Landlord, Shakespeare's Champion, Shakespeare's Christmas, Shakespeare's Trollop and Shakespeare's Counselor". I suggest you read these in order. Lily is an interesting character and I enjoyed watching her change thru the series. No garlic needed.<br />
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Harper Connelly can see the dead. As a 15 year old, living in a blended, dysfunctional family, she is struck by lightening, leaving her with this strange new talent. Most people think she is a fraud but there are those who seek her out when everything else has failed to answer questions about their late loved ones. Read these in sequence: "Grave Sight, Grave Surprise, An Ice Cold Grave and Grave Secret." I liked the lead characters and hope that Ms. Harris will continue to write more about them. However, I think Sookie is just too popular a series to leave. Vampires Rule!<br />
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Feel free to contact me with your favorite vampire tale. Yes, I know there are tons more books out there, just Google "Vampire Novels" and you will be amazed. I left out the Anne Rice series, I loved "Interview with a Vampire" but felt things went downhill after that. No, I haven't read the "Twilight" books, I really couldn't accept the level of writing. I have read more on the subject but this post is not intended to be a bibliography on Vampire books. Hummm, where there's smoke, is there really fire? Garlic anyone!<br />
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As a total change of subject, I offer up a series by Judy Clemens. All Stella Crown wants is to live her life as a dairy farmer in the quiet Mennonite countryside of Pennsylvania. The first book, "Til the Cows Come Home" opens with Stella and her veterinarian friend performing a C-section on a dairy cow. Right away you realize this mystery series will be different and it is. Losing her father as a child and her mother when she was 16, Stella, with the help of her hired man and family friends, has struggled to keep her farm out of the clutches of the ever encrouching land developers. She loves her farm, she loves her cows and, I might mention, she loves her Harley! Trouble comes in many forms, children are dying of an unknown virus, strange things are happening on the farm, her barn burns down and a handsome, blue eyed barn painter appears out of nowhere. The next four books are: "Three Can Keep a Secret, To Thine Own Self Be True, The Day Will Come and Different Paths." Believe me this series is offbeat. You will learn more about dairy farming, bikes and tattoo artists than you ever dreamed. I highly recommend this series. <br />
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The last couple of day I have been chasing around Washington DC with Robert Langdon trying to find "The Lost Symbol". Yes, another thriller by Dan Brown. Sacred Masonic rites, symbols on dollar bills, the philosphies of our founding fathers, hidden places in our most hallowed public buildings and a grim, female CIA chief, complete with big black helicopters. What a trip! A little preachy at the end but a thumping good read. My favorite is still "Angels and Demons".<br />
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I have been a fan of Sharon McCone since "Edward Of The Iron Shoes". Marcia Muller has never disappointed me with this series and with "Locked In" she presents a unique method to tell Sharon's latest adventure. After dinner with an associate, Sharon heads back to her office to retrieve her cell phone when she runs out of gas. Walking the last few blocks along the dark waterfront is spooky; she arrives at the pier to find the night guard is off somewhere with his bottle of booze. As she turns the key to her locked office, someone rushes out of the dark, there is a loud noise, a flash of light, pain....and then nothing.<br />
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When Sharon becomes conscious, she slowly opens her eyes to see a beige ceiling. She tries to move, to turn her head, to speak; her body does not respond. It is as if she is frozen in place, only her eyes move. Can you say "traumatic brain injury"; Sharon is "locked in" her body unable to communicate. The story unfolds through the viewpoint of each of the participants as they unite to solve the "who done it and why". I won't spoil anything for you. If you are a fan, grab a copy. You will be in for a intense ride. I loved it.<br />
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So back to reading, will have more for you down the road.<br />
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Light and Love,<br />
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Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-43491475957522083692009-11-21T18:39:00.000-08:002009-11-21T18:39:05.185-08:00On the road to Thanksgiving!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4MEmHGOxcpbNDQiHAIVXZSen8YWtBQZ87cijfwFKAOqVe75Y-j7gdZO_uQEuT85NH1YSZ0vDl7ZyImp8HzUh70KHFtXIRHa_sR9uxL_THLI7N5i9Pm2eZ-pw2Qsb98guSLRhA_ZhEoY/s1600/Nov+20+All+packed+up+and+ready+to+go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4MEmHGOxcpbNDQiHAIVXZSen8YWtBQZ87cijfwFKAOqVe75Y-j7gdZO_uQEuT85NH1YSZ0vDl7ZyImp8HzUh70KHFtXIRHa_sR9uxL_THLI7N5i9Pm2eZ-pw2Qsb98guSLRhA_ZhEoY/s320/Nov+20+All+packed+up+and+ready+to+go.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86JsoxSeIAOFmhtKh4koRzkATyGBdSAbcK0fvjxbpcZELPVnWH6mYedABskaVC-YiZUczCNUetG_ynez8Z_gO9zY5jU8jFbB5SyY_b-YiSngsQKMWIulqdU_ePvyW56KAI3yfJCFP5Bo/s1600/Nov+20+going+home%21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86JsoxSeIAOFmhtKh4koRzkATyGBdSAbcK0fvjxbpcZELPVnWH6mYedABskaVC-YiZUczCNUetG_ynez8Z_gO9zY5jU8jFbB5SyY_b-YiSngsQKMWIulqdU_ePvyW56KAI3yfJCFP5Bo/s320/Nov+20+going+home%21.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV297_HQ7Puu5wNf4A-eeDUHN3UxRvhn7Vmi9ca8Jfk1EZCeoHjL1NVSCaqyzXyqx99hFAgqk76yt4ZghJGmXYusnFeesjqZ3WVFaBDtODaHXCgWEKaIYEWQ7KjeT64dbjYrFlVns60g/s1600/Nove+20+Home+with+Mommy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV297_HQ7Puu5wNf4A-eeDUHN3UxRvhn7Vmi9ca8Jfk1EZCeoHjL1NVSCaqyzXyqx99hFAgqk76yt4ZghJGmXYusnFeesjqZ3WVFaBDtODaHXCgWEKaIYEWQ7KjeT64dbjYrFlVns60g/s320/Nove+20+Home+with+Mommy.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WKqkEho2v_zZC5flEtdlduYE-xlSjFDDw_ucFUCe8J31BFHPSm95FfIsBYyJDK7iu0TL4PSSrAFLufNgA4UP_A0-VNGExMBTt6cKtdCDTQc-lEzomKSCEwRk0Pn2qrGDbcQPPwukhvs/s1600/Nov+20+home+with+Dada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WKqkEho2v_zZC5flEtdlduYE-xlSjFDDw_ucFUCe8J31BFHPSm95FfIsBYyJDK7iu0TL4PSSrAFLufNgA4UP_A0-VNGExMBTt6cKtdCDTQc-lEzomKSCEwRk0Pn2qrGDbcQPPwukhvs/s320/Nov+20+home+with+Dada.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ellie is home!! What a journey this has been thus far. <br />
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</div>For those of you on the Prayer Warrior e-mail list, this is old news. When I opened my mail box last night and saw the messages from Ellie and Penny, my heart just overflowed with joy as the tears spilled down my face. We rarely have the opportunity to be a part of an incredible struggle which has a happy ending. I am so proud to have joined my small voice along with yours and together we made a chorus of petition and love that has reached across the cosmos, from our small blue planet to the ear of the highest power. I feel so humble. I feel so grateful. I feel so blessed. May the blessings that you have asked for Ellie, her family and her medical team, be returned to each of you.<br />
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I have many things for which I am thankful. Family, old friends and new friends. Thursday, I had lunch with two women whom I dearly love. My senior friend,"N", has gone from nearly hell to nearly heaven. She realized, while in the horrible facility, that the time had arrived when she needed more help with her daily life. Her sons and grandson found the most wonderful assisted living facility for her where she has her own small one bedroom apartment. After another stay in the hospital and a second stay in a different rehab facility, she is finally settling in. Her bedroom furniture is in place, artwork hung, mirror on the wall; everything cozy and familiar. Living room furniture and a tiny table for four will arrive on Monday. I hope that soon, her regular group of senior lady pan players will find their way to her new home.<br />
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For a number of years, I have lunched about once a week with my other friend, "S". We are sisters bound by books and politics. Often, as we loaned each other books, she would say that I needed to meet her friend "N"or ask if I minded if she shared my books with "N". Finally, a couple of years ago at a fund raiser, "S" arranged for me to sit with "N" and we became three for lunch. Later, we became four at lunch with the frequent addition of "M" and sometimes, Most Wonderful Daughter in Law will join and add a younger viewpoint. We span a range in age from 40 something to 80 something but our political views are progressive and we all love to read ("N" has just recently stopped) and engage in honest and active discussion. The years are taking a toll on our bodies but the spirits remain vibrant. I am thankful for the love and friendship of each, for the love that flows between us, for the knowledge that, to the best of our abilities, we will be "there" for each other, whether "there" may be.<br />
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There are other women, equally dear and important in my life. Thank you for being my friends and my sisters; for being one of the threads from which the fabric of all of our lives are woven. I love you all.<br />
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I started with this day with what I think is a slight hangover. I am not a beer drinker. I prefer wine, dark rum, brandy and single malt whiskey as my weapons of brain destruction. But beer went so well with bowls of homemade chile topped with cheese, onions and bits of hot fresh cornbread. We celebrated my son's birthday last night. How I love my funny family!<br />
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I arrived at Paul and Kim's with the birthday cake (double chocolate Nothing Bundt drizzled with real butter, cream cheese frosting) around 4:30 in the afternoon. Kim and I sat around talking and drinking a boutique beer. A special friend in California had ordered three pieces of our jewelry. He is someone I met on one of the online dating sites. Lovers, no. Friends, yes. He has since met his special someone thru his work and happiness is his. He shares it by buying our pretties for his lady love. Thanks for the order, Steam Man!<br />
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We transitioned from jewelry back to the dating site. In the past week and a half, I have read some very intelligent profiles (and some very strange ones) and have made a new friend in Florida. (Hi Mike, am I making you crazy with my punctuation or lack thereof?) Kim is in the process of getting ready to host a ton of us for Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning like crazy. She looked around and suggested the next time I am contacted by a guy who wants to be my slave; I should ask him if he does windows and is willing to clean out the garage! She might get out one of her wench bodices, some high heels and be willing to oversee his work. Rick, who thinks he knows nearly everything at 16, had wandered into the room and plopped down on the couch. He announced that he may spend all of his life in therapy and be scarred forever by our conversation. We've heard this before!<br />
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We began discussing Draculya. Kim loaned me "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova and I haven't been able to put it down. One of the better aspects of living alone is that you can read all night or as I do, read, sleep for a while, read until dawn. I LOVED this book, not just the story, but the writing. Kostova's ability to advance the story through different voices and view points, combining the past and the present into a seamless flow is wonderful. It's hard to believe this is her first book. Yes, the story advances very slowly and the book is 642 pages long but I wouldn't cut a single page.If you are interested, it is out in paperback or try the library.<br />
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Paul came home, changed into his jeans, grabbed a beer and joined us in the book talk. He has been immersed in the history of the Ottoman empire for about a year now and pursued Vlad the Impaler as a detour. So he pulled "Dracula, Prince of Many Faces" from one of their many bookcases. This is a scholarly book, by Professors Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, tracing the historical facts and history of Vlad Dracula. No, we are not "Twilight" fans. I do like some vampire fiction but that's for another post. I know I keep promising a post on what I have been reading. One of these days...<br />
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Kim went off to stir the chile and make some adjustments therein, so Paul and I wandered on to his current reading about Alfred the Great. We stayed immersed in books and history until our friends began to arrive. There was no set time for dinner. People came when they were able, helped themselves to steaming bowls of chile in two different degrees of warmth, selected what they wanted to drink and joined whatever conversation they liked. At one point we had current political discussion at the dinning table, another discussion about pirates, women pirates in particular, in the living room. Kim jumped on the computer and found a biography of an Elizabethan period, female, Irish pirate, which she read to us. A couple of the kids were out on the patio sitting around the fire bowl and talking.<br />
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When it appeared we had everyone who was going to come, we indulged in the cake. There were special brownies for those who have special dietary needs. Everyone is included. I have much to be thankful for - friends and family - good books to read. I left with the Dracula book and a novel: "Deus Lo Volt" by Evan S. Connell. This joined the five library books that were lying on the front seat of Bogiebx. Most excellent evening!<br />
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Bottom line, from 4:30pm to 10:30pm, I drank two beers and a part of the third. I enjoyed two bowls of chile with all the fixings and cake. Hangover, hmmmm, maybe there is something in the beer. Anyway, it's been a long day and Aleve has helped!<br />
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I think I will have a bowl of chicken soup and retire to bed with my riches of reading material. Where do I begin?<br />
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If I don't post between now and the official day of Thanks and turkey, please know that you are all treasured in my heart and I wish the very best for all of you.<br />
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Light and Love,<br />
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Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-38661280625459036562009-11-17T13:27:00.000-08:002009-11-21T22:50:42.555-08:00Pit stops along the highway.Happy Monday from Las Vegas in the Fall!<br />
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Leaves are finally falling, my hot weather plants and flowers are giving up the ghost and retreating into their winter mode. When I awoke this morning, I immediately reached for my fuzzy long fleece pants and a sweatshirt, the house temperature was 64 ( a very good age for men but a little chilly for my bare legs). I have been beat all day, two three day art and craft shows back to back will do that to you. We showed at the Steve Powers "Great Craft Festival" weekend before last and at "Show and Tell Craft Market" this past weekend. That means set up on Thursday, show beginning Friday and ending Sunday night and then tear down and packing of all our jewelry and booth. In between the two shows, we put together some new items. Most Wonderful Daughter in Law has designed some terrific cell phone charms from our collection of "Ojimie" which may or may not be misspelled. They are small figures of faces, animals, chinese Zodiac figures or just charming fancies carved by hand in China from boxwood. The majority of them are signed in tiny chinese characters on the bottom. I have a wonderful necklace called "Miss Kitty" which is all cat figures with gold and cinnabar beads. The focal figure is about a two inch tall, sweet cat figure in a kimono whom I dubbed Miss Kitty.We sold a number of the charms at Steve Powers so made some more. We also created some new pieces which we need to photograph and post on our websites. At any rate, today has been a day for R and R. The dogs are so glad to have me home. Every time, I get up from a chair or my bed, they are glued to my side demanding treats, which because I have been feeling guilty about leaving them, I surrender and give to them.<br />
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I can tell you that our country is in a world of hurt right now. Las Vegas has such a high rate of unemployment (which includes me) and money is tight. Steve Powers is an excellent promoter and has been in the art and craft business for many years. He advertises in the local papers with stories and discount coupons. Our admission packet contained printable coupons which we sent e-mailed far and wide, one of our most favorite bead stores, The Gem and Bead Mall, allowed us to place flyers with the discount coupon in the store. Even with all of the advertising, attendance at he show was less than previous years and the show was smaller as artists from out of state are not willing to spend their money on travel expenses when they know the economy is so terrible. To make a long story much shorter, we did not make our booth fee back at either show. We both walked the shows and know that our pricing is right for our jewelry, our booth looks wonderful, we both look pretty good when cleaned up and lots of people drop by to say how much they like our art but just can't afford it right now. So we give out lots of cards with a 10% discount coupon on the back and tell people about our two web sites where they can buy closer to the Holidays if they feel able.So goes the Art and Craft story!<br />
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Now, many of you have seen me at the shows and asked how my online dating project was working. It really isn't! I must be the most picky woman in the western world! It isn't that I find fault with the profiles that I read, it's just that the vast majority of them are lacking. You know, I can take the richer and poorer, I have certainly experienced both. I just can't take being bored!<br />
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Let's lay it on the line. I am a plus sized woman and many men with whom I might have interests in common, simply don't see past my photos. I refuse to lie, I am what I am. In my personal world, I am a very passionate, loving, intelligent, well read, politically active (progressive politics only) and funny woman. I am an artist, creative with my poor hands and make beautiful items. I am a wordsmith and often make many of you laugh or cry with my tales. I love museums, history, new places, traveling, different cultures, good food and wine, single malt whiskey, music, off beat movies and chocolate. I am clean and thanks to Hermes "24 Faubourg", I smell good! Love that warm, sexy, mature, knowing, woman scent!<br />
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I can hear some of you saying, why don't you just lose weight? Well my friend, it isn't that easy. I was blessed? if that is the right word, with this superstructure between my shoulders and above my belly. I could lose a ton off my fanny, middle and even my double chins but would still carry around this interesting silhouette. It would take more than nip and tuck to make me look like Meryl or Cher, besides I'm not tall enough.<br />
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Another side of the coin, why would I be interested in men who can't see past my photos? Hmmm, because some of them are pretty darn interesting and it's a shame that our culture thinks that Goddesses only come in tiny slim little packages.<br />
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I have written about some of the unique men who have sent flirts of passion to me. Is a canned message called a flirt that says "I'm interested" or "You're Hot" really a love letter? I think not. I had one fellow that sent every single canned flirt in the dating program but couldn't send an original message to say why he was interested in me. <br />
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I have canceled e-Harmony. They never sent me anyone who matched me and wasn't 500 miles or so from Las Vegas. I could not and do not understand why - when I clearly said in my profile that I am a progressive Democrat or a liberal with a capital "L", they kept matching me with guys in Scotsdale who were McCain followers or who thought Ronald Regan was the last great political figure. So e-Harmony is gone but they keep sending me offers. <br />
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I have also canceled "Plenty of Fish". It looked at first like they had plenty of men but I soon found that many of them were recycled! I also could not understand their website. I want to see who had viewed my profile in chronological order. As time went by, I found that many of the men who were in the "viewed you" listing hadn't been active on the site for a month, three months or more.They also have a lot of "bathroom photographers". These are men who are taking their own photos in the bathroom mirror so the women in their lives don't know what they are doing.<br />
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Singlenet is also past tense although they keep sending me notices of matches, which I just delete. I have asked to be removed from the site but they continue! Can't say I ever found anyone of interest there. They were always sending a notice that this fellow or that fellow was a match. The poor guy may have never viewed my profile and didn't know I even existed.<br />
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So I am still on SeniorPeopleMatch. Of what I have seen, this site is one of the best. I do get flat out weird flirts and messages from some guys. The situation: My photos are up because I am honest and upfront about myself. This program allows you to monitor and see who is looking at your profile (photos included if they post any). About two months ago, I noticed a small number of men were looking at my photos once or twice a week. The total views keep increasing. Five times, seven times, nine times and so on. We were standing around, drinking coffee before the show opened Sunday morning and I was ruminating on this phenomena when some asked what I thought was going on. I replied that I think they are whack jobs looking at my pictures. After everyone stopped laughing, she asked, well isn't there some way you would charge them? I love creative people! We started giggling about this and I begin to wonder if somewhere out in cyber land there are existing sites where a fee is charged to men to see certain pictures and duh! Of course there are! But my friend, never fear, I prefer to continue to find gainful employment in the regular way! But I deleted the photo which showed me standing beside my dear little car in full bloom.<br />
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You know since I begin this quest, I have looked at and read maybe two hundred of more profiles posted by men from all over the world. Yes, some are scams. Some are what I consider marginal men who for one reason or another may never attract someone. They still have the need to reach out even when repeatedly rejected. These are the guys who seem to be viewing my photos multiple times. I could block them from my profile and I've thought about this but really, as long as looking at my picture is the extent of their contact, how are they harming me? We all need dreams to keep us going.<br />
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I have found that in this information age with all our high speed, instant communication, there are a lot of lonely people looking for companionship. Men retiring from jobs which were their lives and identities, only to find that the world for them has changed and they are socially and sometimes geographically isolated <br />
in a community without friends or family. I haven't found many of the people who can afford to live in the "Sun City" type retirement developments on any of the dating sites. In fact, I have noticed that the majority of men who state they are retired claim incomes ranging from $18,000 to $25,000 per year and are looking for a woman who has her own retirement income for "long term relationships."<br />
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Finally, being somewhat weary of brain today, I received three of the canned "I'm interested in you" flirts today and I e-mailed back a reply with a nicely phrased question which is basically: "Why?" What is there in my profile that strikes your interest? I figure if they can't get past that question, then there isn't much in common. As of this posting, I have two "no responses" and one snarly "if that's the way you are, not interested!!".<br />
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And so it goes...I'm still trucking down the highway of life! <br />
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Light and Love,<br />
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Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-5563633423189424732009-10-24T13:46:00.000-07:002009-10-24T19:56:50.134-07:00..And so it goes...Wow, I just deleted two half finished posts from the last two weeks. The news seemed outdated. I guess it's true that time runs like a river, rushing toward the sea with all types of bits and pieces of your life floating and carried away by the current. But the little round rock that is me is still here, grounded and connected to the earth.<br />
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To catch up: I have been on a "pee watch" for the past 24 hours. One of my dearest friends is a senior lady, nearly 85, she developed pneumonia and went from the hospital to a rehabilitation center. Four weeks later, she is in worse shape than the day she left the hospital. She and her family have come to the conclusion that she will not return home but will enter an assisted living facility. At first, she was doubtful and said that she just wanted to go into long term care. Some days she didn't want to wake up and wouldn't consider the possibility that she could resume her active lifestyle again. Gradually with the encouragement of family and her close friends, she began to see that life was still ahead, just in a different form. I don't want to go into the treatment or mistreatment she had endured while in this facility but it has been a very rough four weeks.<br />
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Now to the "pee watch", she can not be released from the rehab until her cathater has been removed and she "pees" . She will also need a couple of days of "bladder training" to ensure that all systems are go. So early yesterday the foley was removed and she started to push fluids. Water, Crystal Clear lemonade and more water. She began updating me every couple of hours.<br />
Nothing.<br />
Not yet.<br />
Her bladder was so full, they inserted the foley to drain it.<br />
More liquid.<br />
Nothing.<br />
Maybe! She thought she might have trickled a little.<br />
OK, all systems at go!<br />
The last call of the evening: well what happens if I can't do it again? I assured her that gravity works and she would be able to continue this function.<br />
This morning: YES! So now we wait until Monday to see if she is released to begin a new life.<br />
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I have only written the barest bones of her story because it is HER story and not mine but it is also the universal story of aging, environment and attitude. My friend is a spunky old lady with a clear mind and has endured a number of health problems without losing her zest for life. Yet, the past four weeks has pushed her to despair. In my opinion, her treatment was disorganized and ineffective. One "nurse" would tell her something and another would tell her something else. She tried to tell the medical personnel how she handled her diabetic lifestyle and was ignored. She was not even given a diabetic diet so her blood sugar floated up and down. Early on, she "pulled" a back muscle and was in considerable pain. Instead of evaluating her for muscle trauma, she was placed on morphine as needed for pain. Roughly two weeks of her stay was in a drug daze and, despite the administration of such a powerful medication, she never saw a doctor! She was reviewed twice by a Physicians Assistant.<br />
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What she had going for her was her family and a close circle of friends who monitored her progress and asked questions of the staff. Who encouraged her not to give in to depression and who assured her that at nearly 85, she has a great deal of good life ahead of her. I have been so concerned about her depression and passive mental state so when I spoke with her on Thursday and she was sputtering angry, I laughed and knew she was going to be all right. She is my hero and the type of person I want to be when I grow up.<br />
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As most of you know, Gordon and I fought the battle of Alzheimer's together for over eight years. During this time, I learned to question the health care system and advocate for him. I know the things that happened while he was in a less than desirable facility until I could get him out. I know that there are not enough "good" facilities because health care has become about companies making a profit and not about people receiving the care they need and deserve.<br />
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So while I watch the public battle over health care reform, I can only wonder at the politicians who stand with the giant corporations. Have they ever smelled a substandard long term care facility? Ever had a close friend or family interned in one? I wish that every politician would spend time listening to everyday Americans who have been caught in the morass as well as those who have been excluded from any care. As long as I am on my soap box, there is a great social and medical crises coming at us like a train: the impending avalanche of Alzeheimer's cases. But that the topic for another day.<br />
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Right now, I am just happy that my dear friend can "pee". She is now free to leave the present situation and begin her new life. To paraphrase a great American hero without any insult intended: "Pee at last, pee at last, oh my lord, pee at last" Ah freedom!<br />
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Light & Love,<br />
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Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-88864601122695698922009-09-30T19:57:00.000-07:002009-10-01T00:59:24.054-07:00Art in the Park! October 3rd & 4th, Boulder City, Nevada<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a3jRaTOvAkfdyratlH6Ga4Q1VNc34HarQyXtyaNZyc2eEpYDOVKshjzC7BaRmXBVRthvYjbLf_1dUwdWU1YdUqFYTU04NcYKzfTdYlDaGNQup9z75JDhvgjJ3kjO5E7Ih5bP8QqBo2g/s1600-h/Green+Biwa+with+18K+gold+beads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a3jRaTOvAkfdyratlH6Ga4Q1VNc34HarQyXtyaNZyc2eEpYDOVKshjzC7BaRmXBVRthvYjbLf_1dUwdWU1YdUqFYTU04NcYKzfTdYlDaGNQup9z75JDhvgjJ3kjO5E7Ih5bP8QqBo2g/s320/Green+Biwa+with+18K+gold+beads.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Green Grows the Holly"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Large green colored fresh water Biwa pearls and 18kt vermiel beads from India: $365.00<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am proud to announce that "Out of Our Minds", the design enity in which Most Wonderful Daughter in Law and I are members, will be showing at Art in the Park this coming weekend. We submitted our application and were admitted into the show under the catagory of "Fine Craft" so you will find us in Wilbur Park, Booth #130. Show times are from 9am thru 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDD4n_VV94TBryRq6XltBPLrzOwvIClwPeLfT5naDbz9Yarn51kWwMEfLhuD339aEL6vjlnTdr5Z0hwupgGRLUibZ4x25-EjdM_n0y9Di5qJ1HQgYzjBWUYo8qxBLsiWaPSKe1u6fBsE/s1600-h/funnyvalentine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDD4n_VV94TBryRq6XltBPLrzOwvIClwPeLfT5naDbz9Yarn51kWwMEfLhuD339aEL6vjlnTdr5Z0hwupgGRLUibZ4x25-EjdM_n0y9Di5qJ1HQgYzjBWUYo8qxBLsiWaPSKe1u6fBsE/s320/funnyvalentine.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"My Funny Valentine"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Handmade glass focal bead, coral, fresh water pearls, turquoise: $125.00<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We consider ourselves to be Artisen jewelers. Each piece is unique and handmade.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLUOdg2LTRsq2I4LZrFdxNXjDf95YFItPlT2kBvYlZIzwjfbHNfbPR-VL-XmoT8E8C0cTh9ZjY49BMHTXeWhzKMF4ZiHSv4yuF0Vu_Ojv2zSNOG48gYPO-x82Usyw2XxXPAJPuD-Ksck/s1600-h/blue4u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLUOdg2LTRsq2I4LZrFdxNXjDf95YFItPlT2kBvYlZIzwjfbHNfbPR-VL-XmoT8E8C0cTh9ZjY49BMHTXeWhzKMF4ZiHSv4yuF0Vu_Ojv2zSNOG48gYPO-x82Usyw2XxXPAJPuD-Ksck/s320/blue4u.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Classical Blue"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Handblown Murano Italian glass, fresh water Biwa pearls, crystals:$125.00<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We love to work with pearls in different ways. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfyIAaloUpQQ6urtnFPgB2vyyyzl6DHFE_ormWeE36w6mTuqvPjvi3ZmLeDSl18EPx3xJdgfA4utawdd6zW8E0ssKV7Qdizn5juq6suM48y3IkHDpNOmIIEBORnMTXRwF1khHjqdu6QQ/s1600-h/copperheart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfyIAaloUpQQ6urtnFPgB2vyyyzl6DHFE_ormWeE36w6mTuqvPjvi3ZmLeDSl18EPx3xJdgfA4utawdd6zW8E0ssKV7Qdizn5juq6suM48y3IkHDpNOmIIEBORnMTXRwF1khHjqdu6QQ/s320/copperheart.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Copper Heart"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Copper wire, hand formed heart with forget me not blue beads on silk cord: $12.00<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-RuwfJuFS_Tu-jk_Y-vhn3eMGYaHJe3OiF4SzabVxunDJumSL7KyBR-tQfOgqUm220rfjylzCq2EqWDwLbkVsautiC_LDd0umoAsFRwPnMpu_x9hjrPrfp2Nutyot6w9orhp3baWvwU/s1600-h/lavenderpromise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-RuwfJuFS_Tu-jk_Y-vhn3eMGYaHJe3OiF4SzabVxunDJumSL7KyBR-tQfOgqUm220rfjylzCq2EqWDwLbkVsautiC_LDd0umoAsFRwPnMpu_x9hjrPrfp2Nutyot6w9orhp3baWvwU/s320/lavenderpromise.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">"Lavender Promise"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Fresh water blush lavender pearls, faceted chinese CZs, vermiel spacers and clasp:$149.00<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Beautiful gift for a special occasion. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0l3IyBlNEU1kzgiRRRw6uLW8OR3Nsi8bvUlo81WTDqdy2_oNj8vifOk_GqoBLJ608sqhncAQOhNQZ_2eXm9p3vWNc4-hd7ayF9PTEnnQ_Fa2dTqZOpa0UMpWSkkf-9eEzlfeFbw2F2k/s1600-h/pink+bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0l3IyBlNEU1kzgiRRRw6uLW8OR3Nsi8bvUlo81WTDqdy2_oNj8vifOk_GqoBLJ608sqhncAQOhNQZ_2eXm9p3vWNc4-hd7ayF9PTEnnQ_Fa2dTqZOpa0UMpWSkkf-9eEzlfeFbw2F2k/s320/pink+bride.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Pink Bride"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Faceted crystal drops, fresh water pearls, vermiel spacers and findings:$25.00<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6Tfj0Y9sFM7kxVmwrgZu-fR5VxKVaJpwGwsmNu-DoClI_k3LlyMA2yFoexXgcXZxPzm9L5aZ8qMZTu1J_vt7tz9udgtbzG5A6dRbKyC5_FAXHzGsrOEY68GaDlk0eArqkiQA4-L0FlA/s1600-h/tucsonsunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6Tfj0Y9sFM7kxVmwrgZu-fR5VxKVaJpwGwsmNu-DoClI_k3LlyMA2yFoexXgcXZxPzm9L5aZ8qMZTu1J_vt7tz9udgtbzG5A6dRbKyC5_FAXHzGsrOEY68GaDlk0eArqkiQA4-L0FlA/s320/tucsonsunset.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Tucson Sunset"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Color treated Turquoise, turquoise and silver:$125.00<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b-tNFrVxQuHHvsimBgKPk2olN6cvM85TlZmsmhVjARsFWLyVf-Zz5Qqq69T9MVzSw5dk6yDB_2EXhPAhQsfElhiHlnMSLGc-BKI4tf-aYvAK9d4TFJE3hf6IRtWR9vICuEc3vQgiANI/s1600-h/starrynight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b-tNFrVxQuHHvsimBgKPk2olN6cvM85TlZmsmhVjARsFWLyVf-Zz5Qqq69T9MVzSw5dk6yDB_2EXhPAhQsfElhiHlnMSLGc-BKI4tf-aYvAK9d4TFJE3hf6IRtWR9vICuEc3vQgiANI/s320/starrynight.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Starry Night"<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Handmade dichroic glass by Paula Radke, sitara beads, crystals:$150.00<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Paula Radke is one of the pioneers in dichroic glass. We purchased a number of handmade beads directly from her at a Glass show here in Las Vegas. She is a great lady and has seen a photo of this work which she said she really liked. <br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0HY8VILRkcRLymtCf4nQafEtZZwlhx6gAl-aCROQh2Tvb4p0DiZDfZCSITuOiqOEzhWsmJmQ306e-9QLyf10dWEPxFUhTMziT0NFfb45e-5CVhGmL1tEIcwqpYxZ7af4cgSweq99Iw0/s1600-h/stonehedge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0HY8VILRkcRLymtCf4nQafEtZZwlhx6gAl-aCROQh2Tvb4p0DiZDfZCSITuOiqOEzhWsmJmQ306e-9QLyf10dWEPxFUhTMziT0NFfb45e-5CVhGmL1tEIcwqpYxZ7af4cgSweq99Iw0/s320/stonehedge.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">"Stonehenge"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">African Jade pendant, sterling silver celtic knot, pewter celtic beads, jade & sandstone beads with silver clasp<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">$45.00<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Even guys have to have "Man Beads" and we have several pieces just for the fellows. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We have something for everyone in most price ranges: necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets and the most unique cell phone charms. Friends and Family are given a 10% discount. Just ask!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Will keep you posted as to our Fall shows. At this time, we have shows October, November and December and are looking for good ones to add.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Light & Love,<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Granny B<br />
</div>Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-76067669402115721472009-09-28T21:05:00.000-07:002009-09-30T20:04:07.474-07:00Happy One Month Birthday to Eliana!<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p>For those of you who are not on the Prayer Warrior e-mail list, here is an update on little Eliana. There have been so many ups and downs during the last month. She is finally off the heart machine and her chest was closed yesterday. She needs prayers for her kidneys, lungs and that she avoids infection. What a brave little soul she is and how wonderful are the Prayer Warriors. Eliana is on the prayer list for daily mass at the Newman Center at UNLV, she is on the prayer list for the Las Vegas LDS Temple where prayers are said every two hours, many smaller churches have placed her in their prayers as well as the faithful friends who remember her every day. As you can see from the update from Ellie's Grandmother, the family is exhausted but is being sustained by the faith of so many people whom they have never met but who care passionately about this tiny child.</o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p>So, when you have a moment to spare, please send a message heaven bound.</o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p>Light & Love,</o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p>Granny B.</o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p>p/s: I promise a posting on the dating sites soon. <br />
</o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Email message September 27, 2009 From Gramma Penny<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Happy One Month Birthday to Eliana!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">I have attached a picture to celebrate her 1 month birthday. The tubes are in but you cannot see them. They will probably remove the tubes in a couple of days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Update briefs<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Late last night they tried to start to wean Ellie off the respirator but a bit too soon -probably because the trunk is still swollen (Each doctor is different but I am not sure that this one is used to the pace at which this Mighty Mouse travels.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">She had 40cc of pee at midnight and some more since then.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">They gave her a little more blood to pinken her up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Apparently Ellie had a little melt down when the nurse tried to move her today and they had a code blue. Becky was out of the room at the time. (Which was probably a good thing?) Eliana is fine now. She stabilized on her own. That thought it might just be the respirator tube getting caught with the last move. They bagged her and she is fine now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Becky admits to being tired. I am exhausted and had already said I was not going to go to the hospital today. I can tell that lack of sleep, stress and poor eating are wreaking havoc on my body.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Please pray for all of us that we are smart enough to take care of ourselves and not feel guilty about it. I am trying to convince Becky to go home as well. She told me “stop pestering </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Wingdings; font-weight: normal;">J</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: normal;"> – she will go home tonight and rest up. No worries.” Of course I feel badly that I am not going in order to relieve her – ah it is a vicious circle…but I tell myself that if I am not well I cannot be of help (so much easier said than done)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">I think this is when turning things over to God and trust need to again come into play… I am human – I am older – I am tired – I am emotionally and physically spent. Perhaps yet again I am being encouraged to not just bring my cares to God but to leave them with God! Now you see why I take such solace in the frailties of so many of the people described in the bible! <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> Do you not know? Have you not heard?<br />
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth<br />
Does not become weary or tired <br />
His understanding is inscrutable. <br />
He gives strength to the weary,<br />
And to him who lacks might He increases power. <br />
Though youths grow weary and tired,<br />
And vigorous young men stumble badly, <br />
Yet those who wait for the LORD<br />
Will gain new strength;<br />
They will mount up with wings like eagles,<br />
They will run and not get tired,<br />
They will walk and not become weary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Isaiah 40:28-31<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">I need to reread the passage above while in my humanity I take comfort from the reaction of Abraham and Sarah to the promises of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘”Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Is anything too difficult for the LORD?...”<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Genesis 18: 12-14<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Perhaps I need to recall that Eliana’s name means – God answer – God is the answer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Again thank you for your prayers, support and love. It is appreciated more than you know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">God’s blessing on you,<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Penny<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">**************************************************************************************************************************<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dear Prayer Warriors,<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">As we pray for God’s Hand and Mercy to lie gently upon Eliana, let us also pray that He sustain her family and her medical team. Every day of the last month has been like a year of stress and tension, of prayers silently offered up from our hearts with love and trust in God. We have been together for nearly a month and surely we have seen the power of faith. Eliana has become a part of our lives and we marvel at her courage and desire for life. So, here we are on the last Sunday in September: This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! These are difficult time in so many ways. As we pray for Eliana, her family and medical team, let us also pray for each other and ask God to watch over us all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Evan</span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">From Penny:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Email September 26, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Praise God we have a closed chest!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It went great. There was no change in vital signs, Eliana was as stable as can be. They usually use skin glue but the surgeon used sutures because it would be easier to manage if there was an infection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My emotions are like partially congealed Jell-O – with this awesome news I find myself crying…<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Obviously we need to continue to pray that there will be no infection. In addition, though peeing was a VERY major step, it is only one in the process of the kidneys truly functioning. One thing kidneys do – as I understood from the explanation last night – is keep the ph balance in the body. At this point they are needing to put lots of bicarbs into Ellie because the acidity levels are very high. In addition I am thinking they still need the dialysis to remove the impurities. I may learn more and will try to share.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am in awe of the power of God! I am thankful for God’s lovingkindness! I am grateful for God’s grace. God’s glory and mercy is beyond any words I know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">God - I AM WHO AM<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">O give </span></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">thanks</span> to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.<o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1 Chronicles 16:34<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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I will give </span></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">thanks </span>to the LORD according to His righteousness <o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+7:16-17&version=NASB" title="blocked::http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+7:16-17&version=NASB"><span style="color: black;" title="blocked::http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+7:16-17&version=NASB"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;" title="blocked::http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+7:16-17&version=NASB"><span title="blocked::http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+7:16-17&version=NASB">Psalm 7:17</span></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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I will give </span></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">thanks</span> to the LORD with all my heart;<o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I will tell of all Your wonders.<br />
Psalm 9:1<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;<br />
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, <br />
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent <br />
O LORD my God, I will give </span></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">thanks</span> to You forever.<o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Psalm 30:11-12<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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Therefore I will give </span></span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">thanks</span> to You among the nations, O LORD,<o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> And I will sing praises to your name.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Psalm 18:49<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">God’s blessings on you for all you are,<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Penny<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> From Penny #2: See the photos above, they were taken today before and after the surgery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">From Penny #3: Ellie’s white count is up but no sign of infection. Please continue prayers there is so much more to come. Thanks to all of you and blessings upon you and yours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Bookman Old Style; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Penny<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
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</div><b></b>Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-71283706591053231342009-09-12T08:36:00.000-07:002009-09-13T10:25:59.367-07:00Two weeks and two days!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4OkQeTQ3CSNtFf9JX6Gb7CKBX7meKHz8VI-9a6Dbb0oZQbwIjc8KMTrTCKyehI4HBkkjey0UkvrsmWcpEjNzhsmGDFV9fLs5uDswwq_XXu4v5nr18IgQ3KC23S4y-xGWLMHCwU0ZnT4/s1600-h/picu+stuff.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4OkQeTQ3CSNtFf9JX6Gb7CKBX7meKHz8VI-9a6Dbb0oZQbwIjc8KMTrTCKyehI4HBkkjey0UkvrsmWcpEjNzhsmGDFV9fLs5uDswwq_XXu4v5nr18IgQ3KC23S4y-xGWLMHCwU0ZnT4/s320/picu+stuff.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Click on photo to enlarge. We ask for prayers for this tiny little girl, for her family and for her medical team.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">The Lord bless you, and keep you;</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"> The Lord make His face shine on you,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"> And be gracious to you;</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"> The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"> And give you peace.</span><br />
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Update from Gramma Penny today:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">September 12, 2009</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Sorry it is later than usual for the first report.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We were able to see Eliana last night!! Well there are other machines like the dialysis and an incredible number of “lines” but the large tubes with blood are not there from the ECMO are gone (yeah!). The nurse was busy all evening with beeps and bings but everything was fine. It is a miracle they know how much of each medicine to administer!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Eliana is off the epinephrine and with the help a few other medications her heart is working!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Last night we realized she was on insulin but they have taken her off of that today!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">She is on dialysis but last night the nurse was so excited to see that she had 4cc of pee (this is not a lot) – it was actually cute to see the nurse – at first we didn’t know what she was so happy about. Eliana has again had a very small amount today. They have just recently decided to space out the dialysis more and try to see if that helps her pee more (like maybe it was working to well and she didn’t have enough fluids).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">She is on a ventilator and not sure what else is being done for her lungs but she is only doing a little bit of the work of her lungs. I think Monday is the day when they will decide what is going on and what to do. This is another <b><u>very critical</u></b> area. There are still questions regarding a possible blockage in her pulmonary arteries – also I am not positive but it seems that the arteries may not be exactly in the right place. I will try to learn more about this today when we go to the hospital.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This morning Becky texted, “The surgeon came by and said it looked pretty good. He said what we have seen so far is ‘miraculous’. I would agree.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Prayers are being answered!!! Prayers for Eliana but also the surgeon and the rest of the medical staff! Thank you also for your prayers for Eliana’s family. It is by the grace of God that Chris and Becky are having the strength to see this through. Don and I also appreciate the prayers; I know it is through grace that I am keeping it together.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">God is amazing!</span><span style="font-size: small;"> and so is Eliana! Just have to keep taking the next steps!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">“…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” Isaiah 43:1-3</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Your steadfastness in praying and asking others to pray has been incredibly beneficial. We ask that you please continue. We know that God is amazing! We know Eliana is amazing! We want you to know that your faithfulness, prayers and support are also amazing and so appreciated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Blessing on you and your loved ones,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Penny</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> ******************************************************************</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">AMEN: Granny Boogies </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">*******************************************************************<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Second Post from Penny:</span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">It is a thin line we walk. We know we are to pray and make our requests known to God. On the other hand, we need to realize that God is in control. And as we have seen throughout Eliana’s healing process, our prayers are being answered in God’s way and in God’s time. He is the creator and ultimate healer.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We are traveling a rough, slippery, rocky path. We treasure the support you are giving us for this journey.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">At first we heard the survival rate was 80%</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Then up to 90%</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Then 60%</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The day before the surgery the head of cardiology was called into the NICU to consult on things and with doctors and medical personnel and I watched as many things were being done to keep Eliana alive. The gentleman later stepped over and introduced himself. I said they were told 60% and he just looked at me. I said, “It’s not that good any more is it?” I knew from his look what the answer was. He went on to tell me that in his 30 years of practice he had not seen anything so bad.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">By the grace of God Eliana survived that day so she could get the desperately needed surgery.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">She survived the surgery.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Her only chance of survival then became the ECMO machine. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We were told that only 40% of those who are put on the ECMO survive. There are numerous complications including bleeding, kidney, liver, brain and other possible organ damage.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">By the grace of God Eliana is off the ECMO.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Eliana struggles with her kidneys, other health issues, and her lungs.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Another incline is here. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">It is through the grace of God that they will determine, not only what is going on with Eliana’s lungs, heart and kidneys and other physical problems, but how best to proceed.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">God is the designer of this passageway. God is in charge. He determines the turns and twists and provides peaks and valleys. </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We trust that like the Israelites we will make it through the Red Sea of our corridor of struggles. God has proven to be faithful in the most unlikely of ways.</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">God is God</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">God is the great I AM</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Blessings,</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Penny</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">*******************************************************************</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">"Into Your Hands, Oh Lord, we place this tiny child of Yours. Your Will Be Done! Glory to God!"</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <br />
</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Evan /Granny B<br />
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</span></div></div>Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-66649111412177070972009-09-10T19:21:00.000-07:002009-09-12T00:54:10.415-07:00Eliana is two weeks old today: Thanks be to God!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyxlb8uQJNPJemPEFZJirANh5ZmUfLtlgdTki6IX4E8da8GCwZNleTCZ8NBA5GOi46wCdJ3SASlph9HxJA-ZuR2OZ78q6Zti7hgzabvpAmD1uIjJp6BfmAVslVcGI0-LYxefdLGHpyrM/s1600-h/Night+she+got+off+ECMO.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380297771760539202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyxlb8uQJNPJemPEFZJirANh5ZmUfLtlgdTki6IX4E8da8GCwZNleTCZ8NBA5GOi46wCdJ3SASlph9HxJA-ZuR2OZ78q6Zti7hgzabvpAmD1uIjJp6BfmAVslVcGI0-LYxefdLGHpyrM/s320/Night+she+got+off+ECMO.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLp6YjAXq9_-9sidszxtzWNCyeTjDq9gPUaMXts2BrWhis83phxHTOmwBTR6LOw7Na_eIVJlVtmWGl0Qnq-Bui_qFtnnRDi9t6_Y3V_KUgZOucT5WmZscBM0Z9gn4oxpy-fN1zjj7yrg/s1600-h/Ellie+and+her+Mommy+holding+hands.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380292145742304130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLp6YjAXq9_-9sidszxtzWNCyeTjDq9gPUaMXts2BrWhis83phxHTOmwBTR6LOw7Na_eIVJlVtmWGl0Qnq-Bui_qFtnnRDi9t6_Y3V_KUgZOucT5WmZscBM0Z9gn4oxpy-fN1zjj7yrg/s320/Ellie+and+her+Mommy+holding+hands.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Today, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Eliana</span> began her third week of life. What a life it has been so far! First she is taken early from her mother's womb because her little heart is deteriorating. The medical team <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">stabilizes</span> her and makes plans for surgery when she is stronger but time runs out. A week ago today, she was rolled into the surgical suite where the medical team swabbed her infant chest with disinfectant and her cardiac surgeon began the first cut. For hours, the doctors labored over the tiny heart, roughly the size of a walnut. They repaired and stitched and gave their all to save this wee little girl.<br />
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The past week has been a roller coaster. One step forward and then one backward. Many of you have been <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">receiving</span> a daily update from me containing the messages that I received from the family. But for those of you who are only reading the blog, here is a brief day by day recap:<br />
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9/02: Wednesday: <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Eliana</span> had a difficult day and the team worked hard to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">stabilize</span> her for surgery.<br />
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9/03: Thursday: The surgery began around 9am. and continued <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">thru</span> the day. The surgeon was very pleased although there was some bleeding. Her tiny chest was left open and she went to the Pediatric ICU where she has two full time nurses and so much equipment that two full ICU spaces are dedicated to her. Not long after her arrival, she began have problems breathing and her heart rate was slowing so she was placed on a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ECMO</span> machine, which maintained her heart and lung function. There were serious problems involved with using the machine and children who are placed on it usually only have a 40% percent chance of survival.<br />
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9/4: Friday: <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Eliana</span> is stable with some blood loss. Lymphatic gasses are very high but are coming down. The medical team was able to get the camera into her chest and check her replaced valve, it is leaking some and they did a little repair. Her heart rhythm is off so they will change her <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">meds</span>. Family advised of the side effects of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">ECMO</span> which include bleeding, blood clots, blood on the brain and organ failure so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Eliana</span> will have a brain scan daily. Chromosome tests are back; she does have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Digeorges</span> syndrome which means that she is missing part of a chromosome and her heart problem is related to the syndrome.<br />
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9/5: Saturday: Color is good today. Brain scan is clear, kidney ultrasound is good, lymphatic gas number is down from 11 to 3.5. She has lost some weight so they will increase her fluid intake and she peed. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Eliana</span> has opened her eyes and moved a little today.<br />
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9/6: Sunday: Vital signs are good and all repairs look good. Medical team tried to remove her from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">ECMO</span> but the right side of her heart wasn't strong enough and her lungs are not inflating properly. Team plans to work on her lungs by gently inflating them. They will try again tomorrow to remove her from the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">ECMO</span>.<br />
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9/7: Monday: <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Eliana</span> had a bad night. Bleeding has increased and she was crying so received some pain medication. If the bleeding doesn't slow or stop the surgeon will go back in and do more repair. No attempt to removed from from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">ECMO</span> today, maybe tomorrow. Brain scan normal.<br />
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9/8: Tuesday: Surgeon went in last night and cleaned up heart so blood loss is way less today. This morning she had a little blip and her heart started racing with an irregular beat so she was medicated and given a little pain medicine. Brain scan is normal. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Decision</span> made not to try and take her off <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">ECMO</span> and stress her any. Penny and Don were allowed into the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">PICU</span> to see and touch her. Penny held her little hand and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Eliana</span> clasped her finger and hung on to it. They can't wait for her to be well and snuggled in their arms.<br />
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9/9: Wednesday: Her color is good this morning, eyes are open. She has developed a slight kidney problem. The team is working on her lungs. Brain scan was normal. Team hopes to get her off <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">ECMO</span> tomorrow.<br />
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9/10: Thursday: Color and blood pressure are good today and her eyes are open. Team started dialysis to support kidneys and keep toxins from building in her blood. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Eliana</span> removed from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">ECMO</span> and breathing on her own. Her condition is still critical but improving.<br />
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9/11: Friday: Early morning report: Still breathing on her own but having a little problem <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">with</span> blood pressure so they will give her some blood.<br />
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This post was started on Thursday night and finished today around noon. In each message from Grandmother Penny she sends the family's most heartfelt thanks for all the prayers and support. Strangers who have never met the family are praying for this child of God. Her name has been added to the prayer book for Catholic Mass at the Newman Center at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">UNLV</span>. An <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">LDS</span> prayer group is praying for her, the family and her medical team, several churches have prayer groups sending petitions upward to heaven. People from all religions are mingling their prayers and thoughts, sending love, blessings and light to this family, the medical team and for the tiny child God is holding in His Hands.<br />
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Thank each one of you for opening your hearts. This is going to be a long journey, so please stay with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Eliana</span>. If you would like to send any message to the family, either post on the blog or send to me and I will forward to them.<br />
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P/S: Eliana is a Hebrew name which translates: God is my answer or God has answered me. It is pronounced: EL - long e - ah- nah.<br />
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Latest update for today: Friday 9/11 from Penny:<br />
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<div>I am happy to send the message below from Becky. She is so grateful for all the prayers and may we all be blessed by this miracle. The news is optimistic but guarded so please don't stop praying. I have also included a picture I don't think I sent it before, of Eliana and her Mommy holding hand (finger)!</div><div></div><div>"Ok the surgeon came by this morning and thought we were looking pretty good. He would remain somewhat guarded but he was quite pleased. Thought lungs and to some extent kidneys are what we need to keep an eye on. The cardiologist did and echo this morning and all the repairs looked good. There some thought there might be some blockage in the pulmonary arteries (things to lungs) but they want to get more views as hard to see. That would be something fairly fixable if it needs to be though they are in no rush to go in. They will look more next week, nothing to panic about but something to keep an eye on. Surgeon just came by again thought the blockage was a possibility but wasn't sure so again just something they will keep an eye on. He's pleased her lactates are going down. If all continues well the plan is to keep as is over the weekend. On Monday the surgeon would go in and clean her up a wee bit and like make the chest opening a bit smaller with the idea to try and close her up end of next week. All goes well we probably have about four more weeks in hospital with dialysis and getting her eating. Oh and I was out pumping when the cardiologist first came and I guess he said Ellie was a strong and stubborn little girl. Apparently Chris took credit for one and laughed about the other...who knew he thought I was so strong ;-) "</div><div></div><div>You have all been such a blessing to us! May you be blessed as well as we continue this healing journey!</div><div></div><div>"...and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you." Genesis:12 2-3</div><div></div><div>"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3</div><div></div><div>bit of humor - I got to the kitchen this morning and realized I had put my pants on backwards! For those who don't know me I am a large woman and I have no idea how I managed that feat - and without even noticing it! Silly Gramma</div><div></div><div>Penny</div><br />
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Light & Love,<br />
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Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-48046434900687570652009-09-02T23:43:00.000-07:002009-09-03T09:27:53.840-07:00As the night slides into morning...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5493pmm2N61hsSaoKUUulhh_8UqUAgSLv1y5Z5QzTmUk7sBWfDpYgZbw5Jy5AN0zCOpb6_pX9Y8jWagDcCHnMS3P3zjbmkZOoKwndxocu2SGHbJXSOzJFpym1KRu_y1SYELlYa29Y_FM/s1600-h/Chris+and+Eliana.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5493pmm2N61hsSaoKUUulhh_8UqUAgSLv1y5Z5QzTmUk7sBWfDpYgZbw5Jy5AN0zCOpb6_pX9Y8jWagDcCHnMS3P3zjbmkZOoKwndxocu2SGHbJXSOzJFpym1KRu_y1SYELlYa29Y_FM/s320/Chris+and+Eliana.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377134032022614114" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOZOUUJj9UBoW2ZjvPLLb533BrNVBJRvrsy7oOIrACAnBLc2AaaVPaHOpqO9Qa2_Aw_dV2yHHos45u7TgsyuzgLhFi-Js5SeyQfFTYA-PaSfHGUWZ_qClYIySC1G1XWtQdovMuxxwNGQ/s1600-h/God+is+watch%27n+over+me.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOZOUUJj9UBoW2ZjvPLLb533BrNVBJRvrsy7oOIrACAnBLc2AaaVPaHOpqO9Qa2_Aw_dV2yHHos45u7TgsyuzgLhFi-Js5SeyQfFTYA-PaSfHGUWZ_qClYIySC1G1XWtQdovMuxxwNGQ/s320/God+is+watch%27n+over+me.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377133733095443650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I am one woman sitting alone in silence, trying to channel the essence of my spirit towards a very small flicker of life. I look at the two photos of her and marvel at her beauty. Her name is Eliana and she was born was born last Thursday so by the time I finish this post, she will be one week old. Right now her medical team is sleeping in their beds, bodies and minds resting in preparation for the task they will face in a few hours. The surgical suite is sterile and empty but in a few hours it will be filled with people, a team of women and men who will do everything in their power to save this child. I can barely imagine the machines that will breathe for her and keep her blood moving through her tiny body. Her little chest will be swabbed and sterilized and the surgeon will mark where he will begin the incision to open her infant chest.<br /><br />I have no comprehension of the details of this, oh so delicate, surgery on her tiny heart. I only know the risks are too great to wait any longer. I have visions of the doctor's large hands working deep inside such a small space... of the watchful eyes following the monitors tracking her blood pressure, her breathing, her brain pattern...of the hands of nurses passing sterile cold metal instruments to the surgeons... of blood soaked gauze pads being discarded as the operation proceeds. How much blood can such a tiny body contain?<br /><br />MWDL (most wonderful daughter in law) and I met Don, Eliana's grandfather, at a large craft show and greatly admired the jewelry he was selling. I don't think at that time we had ever done a show ourselves. We chatted and he told us all the jewelry was made by Penny, his wife. We would see him again and again at shows, at First Friday and other venues. When our work developed to the point that we felt confident in participating in our first show, Don was there. I had long been kidding him that I didn't Penny existed as I had never seen her. Later in the afternoon, a woman walked into our space and said "I understand that you don't think I exist, well here I am."<br /><br />We just hit it off, talked and exchanged e-mail and telephone numbers. From time to time, we would contact each other. Advice flowed from Penny freely. She gave us the inside on various shows and what we could expect. We talked about style, designs and sources for beads. She invited us to come up to the north part of the valley to visit but somehow we just never got together except by computer and telephone.<br /><br />Towards the end of July, Penny sent a message letting me know that the new baby had severe heart problems and would require surgery very soon after her birth. She wasn't due last week but her heart was deteriorating and it was necessary to perform a C-section and get her on support. So her birthday advanced a bit.<br /><br />Penny asked me for my prayers. I don't know my standing with God. I believe in some greater power but I have a problem with organized churches and rarely attend any services other than weddings and funerals. Frankly, I am not certain that I am worthy to pray for Eliana but I have been and I am right now. I have also sent requests to many of you and asked you to send your light, love and prayers for her. I figured I wouldn't stand out in a crowd. So thanks to all of you for letting me hide among you.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>Morning is rolling slowly toward us. The dawn will be lightening on the rocky coasts of Maine, the shinning towers of Manhattan, the beaches of Florida. In a couple of hours, the sun will rise like a great red ball over the jagged peaks of Frenchman's mountain.<br /><br />We don't know what this day will bring. This may be the last day on earth for Eliana or, by the Grace of God, the first day of her journey to a full and normal life. This is a betting town and you know where I will put my money! Eliana is in the Hands of God and the only support each of us can offer, is our prayers. So let us bring to this day the only things we have, faith and love.<br /><br />As soon as you receive this , please find a quiet place and focus your thoughts, send forth your light and prayers for Eliana, her family and her medical team.<br /><br />While we are praying, let us also remember the countless people, uninsured and underinsured, in our country who have no access to any type of medical treatment which gives them a fighting chance. May God have mercy on us all.<br /><br />As soon I know more, I will be back with that info for you.<br /><br />Light & Love,<br /><br />Evan aka Granny.Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-91027582359374089962009-08-29T11:03:00.000-07:002009-08-29T18:09:23.404-07:00The Lion Sleeps Tonight...I am not a woman who weeps gracefully. My nose runs, my eyelids swell near to closing and my face becomes red and blotchy. It took a cool, wet washcloth to get me going this morning and I know the stack of sodden tissues will grow during the day. But I will watch...I will keep vigil...another part of what was the best of America is gone...the last Kennedy brother is dead and the myth of Camelot is enshrined in history. The young, bright, articulate, idealist and clearly American brothers are no more.<br /><br />I don't remember much about politics prior to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. My family was military and not inclined to be political. My stepfather served his country and every President was his Commander in Chief. JFK was the politician to realize the power of television and his image filled the tiny screen with charisma and promise. Young and searching for myself, I was drawn to the flame. As an early reader with a love of history, I greatly admired FDR and Winston Churchill, regarding Winnie as belonging partly to us, to America. What I felt in the politics of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the echo of their sense of honor and belief in the common man. An echo of the military code that shaped my life: Duty, Country, Honor.<br /><br />Growing up living on military bases, I never knew the evils of segregation until I lived in Virginia in the late '50s. My playmates had always been black, white, yellow, brown and every combination and shade of skin. We played, ran, shared toys, formed teams and squabbled among ourselves. We ate in each others home and had sleepovers in each others beds. I never had a sense of difference until we were stationed at Fort Eustis and for the first time in my life, my playmates and friends went to different schools, attendance based on their skin color. For the first time, I spent days surrounded by both teachers and students who did not accept the concept of equal rights; people who believed they were superior due to the color of their skin! Even then, I was outspoken about what I believed and my mother made many visits to the Newport News high school to defend my right to my opinion. It's probably no surprise that I quit school in my junior year.<br /><br />In 1960, my family was living in the small dusty town of Brawley, California, in the heart of the Imperial Valley. My stepfather was based in Korea and my mother returned to her family. At an old fashioned drugstore fountain, I met a young teacher with grey eyes and curly hair who would become my husband and the father of my only child. Frank was of what was called in those days "mixed blood". His father was born in Mexico of German, Spanish, Indian and Italian blood. I only saw the man and not the label and we married. Two important events occurred in 1961; our son was born and I registered to vote for the first time... as a Democrat!<br /><br />As a young wife and new mother, life revolved around my family but I followed the Kennedy saga. The Imperial Valley was a very conservative area; the economy was dominated by very large farms with very wealthy owners. Labor for these enterprises was supplied by "braceros", contracted farm labor from Mexico and transient farm workers who followed the crops, weeded, watered and harvested the food that fed America. Strong currents of civil rights led by Martin Luther King and workers rights as led by Ceasar Chavez swirled through our community and my big mouth frequently had me in hot water. At one point, Frank was called on the carpet by the Superintendent of the School system and asked why he couldn't "control" his wife. Frank replied that I was my own person and "control" wasn't a part of our relationship. However, he did change his registration from Republican to Democrat because I just couldn't stand the idea of sleeping with a Republican.<br /><br />I try to explain to my grandson what it was like to experience those times. How people of conscience had to stand up and be counted. How our leaders had a vision of a different America with "liberty and justice for all", not to forget equality in terms of civil rights, labor rights and in time, equal rights. It was a time when people stood FOR something and not AGAINST everything. How it was to watch our leaders cut down by violence, one by one: Jack, Martin, Bobby. The Kennedy family was always there, suffering great public and private losses but continuing in public service, continuing to push forward the legal framework which enabled our nation to walk the walk of liberty and justice for all of us and not just talk the talk.<br /><br />We knew than, as we know even better now, this family, these men, were not without flaw. They were deeply flawed. I have always believed that on every day of his life, Ted Kennedy did penitence for the death of Mary Jane Kopechne. Their private flaws were redeemed by the public good that they achieved in their lives. America is a better nation because the Kennedy brothers served her and served her well.<br /><br />Let us not leave out the Kennedy women. Jackie standing in her blood soaked pink suit at the side of Lyndon Johnson while he is sworn in as President. Jackie striding down Pennsylvania Avenue in widow's weeds with her black veil floating in the breeze. The picture of Ethel, surrounded by her children, another young widow touched by violence. Eunice, champion of the disabled youth of America, mother of the Special Olympics program. Joan, a woman trying to survive her personal demons. Vickie: warm, loving, steadfast and loyal; another widow with grace sharing the private minutes of her grief and loss with all of us. Caroline, sheltering her children from the public glare while suffering such great personal loss of father, mother, uncles and brother in the public eye. These women have given so much to America.<br /><br />We will always have unfinished business before us and now, each of us must become verbal in our support for the yet unrealized dreams of health care for every American, full and equal rights for each American, based on citizenship and not on sexual preference, the restoration of our economy and so much more. The "birthers", "deathers","nutters" and just plain "haters" are filling the air with their shrill and vile vomit. It's time for the rest of us to send the word to those whom we elected to represent us and let them know that we are watching and it's time to do the right thing. Not what is right for the wealthy, corporate and vested interests, who purchased the allegiance of many of the elected and paid for access and influence. Just do the right thing for America! For all Americans, not just some.<br /><br />I wonder how many people are weeping today. How many of us find the dreams of our youth were inspired by the Kennedy vision of a better America? To borrow and paraphrase from one of my favorite songs: "when will we see their like again?"<br /><br />And so the old Lion of the Senate has roared his last. His laughing Irish eyes are closed and his smile has faded away. Yes, the Lion sleeps tonight....reunited with the brothers, he and we, lost too soon. God Bless them all.<br /><br /> God Bless America<br /> Land that we love<br /> Stand beside Her<br /> And guide Her<br /> Thru the Night<br /> With the Light<br /> From Above...<br /><br /><br />Light & Love,<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-54755878883571462562009-08-20T13:36:00.000-07:002009-08-21T13:38:32.448-07:00How do you stay sane in an insane world?This is my question of the day. It seems everywhere I look, the nutters are taking over. We have "birthers" and "deathers" and a whole lot of gun toting "patriots" just dying to water the tree of liberty. Has a portion of our country lost their common sense or did they just never have any? Before anyone starts to jump the gun and accuse me of being anti Second Amendment, you need to know that I have two blue cards, one for my Smith & Wesson and the other for my Beretta, plus I still have a shotgun. I freely admit to having carried openly in situations when working alone in some deserted valley in the wilds of Nevada. Twice in the more than 20 years that I have been a gun owner, I have displayed my weapon as precaution toward unwanted behaviour. On road trips, my beloved .38 is usually in its case under my seat if I have passengers or on the seat next to me if I am alone. I would never dream of taking a weapon to any type of town hall or political gathering where some nut might attempt to take it away and use it.<br /><br />Then there are the posters accusing our leaders of being terrorists or Nazis. What happened to civilized discourse? Does anyone ever watch the "question period" of the British Parliament? The Prime Minister stands on the floor in front of God and the TV cameras and takes questions from the members. No one screams or holds up nasty signs, there might be some polite nays or laughter should the PM be witty in his response. Serious topics are discussed in a serious manner.<br /><br />I realize that many people watch and believe Fox News to be a legitimate source of "news" and I agree that the commentators have First Amendment rights. I just have hard time telling the difference between "news" and personal opinion on that network. Yes, I am a Keith Olberman fan but I am fully aware that some of his discourse is his opinion. Rachel Maddow is another story. She backs up her statements with documentation frequently taken from public records and filings. That gal reads all the fine print and checks all the links! She invites the "other side" to appear on her show and present their views and she is polite while they do so, disagreeing in a civil fashion.<br /><br />Maybe I am just grouchy today. I woke at 3am this morning with my left hand clenched in a ball under my chin. I have been having pain in this hand since last weekend when my "muse" visited and I designed and made four new pieces and restrung two others in two days. Too much for my poor arthritic hands. At some point I realized that I string with my left hand as much as I do with my right. That means holding the hand clamped around the wire for long periods while stringing pearls or stones with small holes. Sometimes my fingers will begin to spasm and I soak them in warm or cold water depending on the pain. Working with pearls, crystals or precious stone spacers (I have emerald, sapphire and ruby spacers from India) is the hardest on my hands. BUT when the work is finished and some wonderful new necklace is bagged, just waiting for my MWDL to put on the clasps, I am fulfilled and happy and maybe sane!<br /><br />I found some beautiful lavender jade beads last week and combined them with deep purple fresh water pearls and 18kt vermeil beads. Simply stunning! As I was checking out the tables at our local Gem & Bead Mall, I saw a string of color enhanced hot pink jade ovals. The color rang my bell so I bought them and sure enough, they were a color match with a rainbow dichroic glass pendant that I got in Flagstaff three years ago when I just started making jewelry. Combined with small lime green fresh water pearls and ab crystals, the piece is a knockout!<br /><br />Whenever I am not on the computer checking out jobs, which I do first thing every morning; I am doing prep work for the Art in the Park show in October. Each piece is being cleaned with microfiber cloth and a new facial make up brush, checked against our master inventory and bagged in a new Ziploc bag. To make our set up easier, I am sorting by primary material into boxes. This gets a little tricky since we love to work with pearls and so many of our pieces have pearls. So there are some items with pearls in the gemstone box, some in the glass box and others in the eclectic box. MWDL hopes to have 100 pairs of earrings for her revolving rack and we will probably have a mounted board of pendants. I will need to go back and count the items in each category but we are still pulling jewelry from our show totes and personal collections.<br /><br />Sooo, whats new on the dating scene? In the past couple of red haired weeks, I have received an increased number of flirts and contacts. I have a better understanding of why people (men & women) get fed up with the sites and just quit. I attempted a conversation on line with a clinical psychologist the other day regarding his insights into the "process" of posting profiles. I presented some of my questions based on my observations: what is the basis/thought process that men use for posting their photos? No, I didn't discuss my observations regarding "fish" photos. I'm talking about just plain unflattering shots or semi naked photos. I still have the shot of the guy who said he is a cross dresser and posed with his back to the camera while wearing a white garter belt, white hose and spike heels. Yes, that's all! I will say that it did appear that he could give a baby a run for the money on smoothness. Also wondered who took the photo? Then there are photos where the guy has cut out a woman standing beside them, leaving her hand on his shoulder. Long distance shots where you can hardly see any details. OK, maybe that makes sense. Photos of him taken "years" ago, why does he thinks his high school or college photo is a turn on when he is now over 50? Photos with guns, maybe I should have MWDL take some photos of me as a pistol packing granny! Why do men pay for a profile and then don't post a photo or any personal information, just saying: send me a message? Whats with the inflation of their personal information; I have found a couple of those, who, when communicating with me seem to forget what they posted!<br /><br />I asked the psychologist if he was familiar with any studies to which he could refer me? He acknowledged that my questions were interesting and referred me to an article he had written on Human Intelligence. Sorry but it didn't cover posting profiles and photos on Internet dating sites. Maybe he'll come back later with something else.<br /><br />Let's see, still lots of interest from outside of Nevada and outside the US. I seem to be well received in England and Australia. Damn, there is a guy in Australia that rings my bell, how can I resist a fellow who posts photos of himself feeding baby roos and handling cockatoos. Alas, the distance is just too great.<br /><br />Another "Hunka, Hunka" type sent me a message of interest. He claims to be 42 but his photo looks 24 or so. He said he was just looking for a new friend and listed a number of interests that I share, such as Native American art and music, dogs, music and so on. He also asked if the age difference bothered me. I thought about it and responded that in some ways the age difference did bother me but that I didn't discriminate in my friends based on age. So if he wanted to be a friend, then I suggested we communicate more to see what else we had in common. Two days later, I received a blast about having a closed mind and being against him because of his age. Wow! I just sent a nice civil reply that it was unfortunate he interpreted my response as a closed mind. I really had to laugh. Aha, another source for sanity: laughter!<br /><br />The right guy for me may never appear on a dating site, but as I told my son the other day, there is nothing like the human comedy with everyone a player upon a stage or looking for their 15 minutes of Warhol fame. Which reminds me, there was an article on Huffington Post today about researchers who are going thru a zillion boxes of stuff that good ole Andy stored. Recently they found a personalized signed photo of Jackie O skinny dipping which she apparently sent to him. You can see the photo thru a link on the article. Now isn't that just what you have always wanted to see, Jackie O naked?<br /><br />Anyway, I prefer to conduct my insanity prevention sessions on Tuesday nights so I can sit back with a glass of very nice single malt whiskey (Speyside preferred) and watch Warehouse 13 or perhaps Eureka on Fridays. The Sci Fi channel as therapy!<br /><br />One last thing: Our good friend, Rochelle Williams of "I'm Not Spoiled" will be at the Harvest Festival the weekend after this. So if you go, please be sure and drop by her booth to say hello and see her wonderful things. Maybe we can do this show next year but just can't afford it right now. Also the Las Vegas Crafters Guild will have a Craft Boutique at the West Sahara Library on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3rd. Check it out and if you don't find something, come and visit us at Art in the Park on Saturday and Sunday. In fact, just come by and say hello. Several members of the Crafters Guild will be showing in Boulder City.<br /><br />Aha, I am getting a long wet nose down my leg. It must be getting close to treat time. Another way to keep sane; loving greythounds!<br /><br />Light & Love,<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-20284528112262518342009-08-13T14:20:00.000-07:002009-08-13T14:34:49.279-07:00Do Redheads have more fun?Do Redheads have more fun?<br /><br />In my last post, I told you about my encounters in Sam's Club when I had bottles of wine in my cart. Monday, I was having lunch at Marie's and when I left, a gentleman hurried to hold the door for me. So I will keep a tally and let you all know. Meanwhile, there are new photos posted. Check out the Dog Days post for some pics with my beloved greythounds. You will find pics of the Bogiebx in the very first post. I have a new post floating around in my mind, plus a number of you have contacted me via e-mail and asked for more summer reading suggestions. Please post your comments on the blog and let people know what you are reading this summer and any other things that may be on your mind. Oh, I had an e-mail from the Netherlands from someone who is reading my blog there. Granny is getting around! Got to go... I am changing photos on the dating sites. You will notice the full body pics, what you see is what there is; as I believe I mentioned to someone recently, you need long arms to deal with Granny!<br /><br />Light & Love<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-15923680370210728222009-08-07T15:25:00.000-07:002009-08-13T14:20:23.930-07:00Caniculares Dies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTPDbJIx5worD2i48pEqgu9FkRn-q_zCwvmlJKMvTtCkiY1cIrDfRX5FYpI6oxwdll3DV3h0jJW3PFLyiEvztWukbCHZnj8QK8V4e78BQXdLs0mXR4xmszyyHq0NpqV52CquF6W44xb4/s1600-h/IMG_5302_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTPDbJIx5worD2i48pEqgu9FkRn-q_zCwvmlJKMvTtCkiY1cIrDfRX5FYpI6oxwdll3DV3h0jJW3PFLyiEvztWukbCHZnj8QK8V4e78BQXdLs0mXR4xmszyyHq0NpqV52CquF6W44xb4/s320/IMG_5302_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369558935183962610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRPRiW0RfP4Qs-WSjZao42ip585NflWTYQACjN4dly6tAkfcfFg3uplEoIxgMYEPRC96XJP2P_NbGaLHhJ-6jvEnKvpXnnIrOIAN7tobVvIHzxHvd1-TNsbhWSgFoVxzjjd0Re9TSnhk/s1600-h/IMG_5288_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRPRiW0RfP4Qs-WSjZao42ip585NflWTYQACjN4dly6tAkfcfFg3uplEoIxgMYEPRC96XJP2P_NbGaLHhJ-6jvEnKvpXnnIrOIAN7tobVvIHzxHvd1-TNsbhWSgFoVxzjjd0Re9TSnhk/s320/IMG_5288_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369558929420939010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszM1WQ9ZprIg6EmwkgWK5ZhFhDYpgth9qubuwIH0RmP__qCcZttwfUletR723Hhv5wpe7usOET2VHR6bV98JTMHux_mWjOGpkGreRx_QeNJVLmVoMsANx5yjtXUrElFhYSDqMSdB0Urw/s1600-h/IMG_5290_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszM1WQ9ZprIg6EmwkgWK5ZhFhDYpgth9qubuwIH0RmP__qCcZttwfUletR723Hhv5wpe7usOET2VHR6bV98JTMHux_mWjOGpkGreRx_QeNJVLmVoMsANx5yjtXUrElFhYSDqMSdB0Urw/s320/IMG_5290_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369558922563236850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvVeJ17K9gOIpiApsjpEVNH6rlyqaOxhBD0JFK3Yohanxp5z4AGQrzYF_A2EqnDNmliCtZQ-ehpZ8cOEBQNYtpu5NKCi1YwBZOlBikYmWPnanKvgndulF4iS_dD_jJtRAGTmSN12RP0s/s1600-h/IMG_5293_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvVeJ17K9gOIpiApsjpEVNH6rlyqaOxhBD0JFK3Yohanxp5z4AGQrzYF_A2EqnDNmliCtZQ-ehpZ8cOEBQNYtpu5NKCi1YwBZOlBikYmWPnanKvgndulF4iS_dD_jJtRAGTmSN12RP0s/s320/IMG_5293_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369558911294299426" border="0" /></a><br />Caniculares Dies!<br /><br />No, this is not really a disease, although it does seem to be a state of mind. Dog Days of Summer!<br />The Romans believed this was an evil time "when seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics and phrensies"<br />Here in Las Vegas, it means heat, heat and more heat. It's hot when I go out before the sunrise to water my plants, it's hot at 10am, noon, 3pm and into the night. Everyone seems to go into a funk and the predominant thought is to just survive until mid-September when the heat breaks.<br /><br />Even the internet dating scene is affected by the dog days, in fact, I seem to be getting more mutts as matches. "Hunka, Hunka Burning Love" ( see "Buffet of Men" ) has been back flirting with me twice. "ButtLover" changed the name on his profile but is still sending messages although I have told him "Thanks, but no Thanks!" The amount of profiles with no photos has increased. One of the sites keeps sending me matches with 40 - 50 years old guys. In general, I am looking at the same profiles over and over. I am going to change my profile to state that I will not respond to any profile without a photo.<br /><br />Sometime next week, I will make some changes to my profile on this blog. I finally did something I have been saying I wouldn't do again. I am no longer your favorite little ole silver haired lady. I am now your favorite ( I hope) little ole strawberry blond lady. As many of you know, I have been out of work for over a year. Interviewers look at me and began commenting on how qualified I am for the position they offer; how very qualified I am and then, how over qualified I am for their job. I really believe the comments are less about my qualifications as they are about my age. So I elected to make a change, maybe influenced by the fevers of the Dog Days.<br /><br />I spent about 15 years as a redhead; right up to the morning when my head was shaved and my skull was drilled and crosscut. The crosscut appears to have healed but the drill holes will never close. My doctor, at the time, suggested that it might be best not to color my hair again to avoid any chemical contamination of my brain. That was then, this is now. I don't feel there is potential for the chemicals to penetrate the soft cover of my skull. Here I am, red again! Red hair may not be my natural color but it is my natural disposition!<br /><br />Funny things have been happening this last week. I was in Sam's Club yesterday and had a couple of bottles of White Zin in my basket along with a box of fresh peaches and some strawberries. A fellow came up and offered to help me drink the wine! A little later, another guy approached and asked about the wine, then told me how he was entering chef's school in the fall. Hummmm, didn't happen with my silver hair. We will see what happens when new photos go up next week on the dating sites.<br /><br />My days are spent looking for a job before my benefits run out but my nights are filled with summer reading. Many of my favorite authors have new books out. If I can't snuggle up with a great guy, I'll curl up with a good book. Yes, I would prefer the right guy but you go with what you have. Having started reading at age four, I have always been a reader. I devour from three to seven books a week. If you are also a reader, here are a few summer suggestions:<br /><br />Right up at the top of my list is Daniel Silva's new political/spy thriller: "The Defector". Silva writes a series not so loosely based on the Mossad. His hero is Gabriel Allon, noted art restorer in public, Israeli assassin and spy in his secret life. To fully appreciate this author, you need to begin at the beginning of this series. In order the Allon books are: (1) "The Kill Artist". (2) "The English Assassin", (3) "The Confessor", (4) "A Death in Vienna", (5) "Prince of Fire", (6) "The Messenger", (7) The Secret Servant", (8) "Moscow Rules" and (9) "The Defector". Silva is a former CNN reporter and very informed regarding European and middle East politics which form the background for these novels. The latest two novels deal with the breakup of the Soviet Union complete with arms sales to the middle East and Africa. Silva is so spot on that situations he writes about as background, sometimes appear in the European press as current news.<br /><br />I will read any novel by Jeffrey Deaver but the Lincoln Rhyme books are my favorites. If you saw the movie "The Bone Collector" erase it out of your mind. In my humble opinion, it sucked big time! The book is great and is the first of the Rhyme series. This series is best read in sequence so you can follow the development of the characters. But you can't go wrong with whatever Deaver book you read. He is a master plotter with more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. "Roadside Crosses" is the new summer book. Don't miss it!<br /><br />I don't know why it took me so long to read Harlan Coben but once I did, I had to go out and find all his books. Coben writes series and stand alone novels. His primary character is Myron Bolitar, a nice Jewish boy from New Jersey. Myron had a real shot at being a shinning star in the NBA until he was nearly crippled in an early game. He picked himself up, went to law school and became a sports agent in New York. Along with his unusual sidekicks, best friend "Win"aka Windsor Horne Lockwood III, a certified trustfund sociopath , partner Esperanza Diaz, aka "Little Pocahontas" a former professional wrestler and, of course, Big Cyndi the only six foot five, three hundred pounds receptionist in the world. Poor Myron, all he wants out of life is to find a beautiful woman who wants a family and children and would love to live the suburban life in New Jersey. Alas, in "Long Lost" his dream again fails to come true. Read Coben, his novels come at you like a freight train.<br /><br />No summer would be complete without an offering from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. These guys write separately as well as together. I really prefer them together, especially the Agent Pendergast series. Special Agent A. X. L. Pendergast has to be one of the strangest characters in fiction today. He first appears in "Relic" and the series continues with this summer's release of "Cemetery Dance". I don't know how to describe these books: Sci Fi, fantasy, thrillers and fun? Just go to the Preston/Child website for the sequence, then climb into bed, turn the lights up and don't look under the bed! Enjoy!<br /><br />I have been reading Stephanie Plum novels for some 15 years. When Plum fans get together, they compare their favorite funny scenes. Remember when Stephanie and Lulu were moving the body wrapped in a rug on the top of Stephanie's car and the rug slid off the car and landed in the freeway median? Remember when Lulu threw her hot pink thong at an Elvis impersonator in Vegas? Remember Lulu in her "super model" outfit spilling her bucket of quarters in the Atlantic City casino? My favorite: remember when the bad guys dognapped Bob after he had eaten the box of prunes? I am laughing as I type! I simply love this series but I do wish the story line would move on. My suggestion to Janet Evanovich is for Stephanie to finally marry Joe and immediately become pregnant with twins. Lulu would take over her bounty hunter job and need help from a very pregnant Stephanie. Joe is loaned out to the Feds for a critical undercover job so he asks Ranger to keep an eye on Stephanie. Of course, Ranger has to rescue Steph and Lulu with Joe appearing in the nick of time. The twins are boys and Ranger becomes their Godfather.<br />If you have never read one of these novels, "One for the Money" is the first. START NOW! But try to keep it down and don't wake your partner.<br /><br />Just a quick mention of two more favorites; try the Meg Langslow series, beginning with "Murder with Peacocks". Meg is a charming and solid character with the wildest family in fiction today. You will find the sequence for this series at the author's website: Donna Andrews.com.<br />My favorite to date is "We will always have Parrots!"<br /><br />A small, three book series to date, that I enjoy, is the Annie Szabo series. A young and maybe foolish Annie married her gypsy husband til death do them part. When he dies in a tragic accident, leaving her expecting their third child, she does her best to divorce his gypsy family. Mother in Law, Mina is a tarot and mind reading Diva who doesn't believe in divorce. In the first book Annie and Mina are reunited but not happy while they solve the problems of family members. Meredith Blevins offers a look into the world of the modern gypsy with love and humor.<br /><br />So hunker down, summer has maybe a month more to go. While I wait, I'll let you know if strawberry blonds have more fun! Check back about the middle of next week to view the "new" Granny.<br /><br />Light & Love,<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-40700108548885882722009-07-24T20:04:00.000-07:002009-07-31T15:24:51.325-07:00Granny's adventures in cyber date land or somewhere out there...Somewhere may be a lot farther out than I originally thought. Not that I expected to find Mr. Right, right off the bat. I am convinced that, as human beings, we are blessed with the ability to expand our lives through love and expand our love throughout our lives. Gordon was my third husband (ok, he was my fourth also but that's another story).<br /><br />I recall reading a short story when I was a young lass about an old woman who had been a famous courtesan. Every night, her butler brought a chilled split of champagne to her bedside and she remembered the loves of her life as the cold golden bubbles slid down her throat. I wondered if I would ever have lovers or if I would find the man of my dreams, marry him and love happily ever after. That was then, in the 1950s and this is NOW. Thank God! As it turned out my life was not without lovers. Some were wonderful and shared so much with me and others were a pause on the highway of life. No regrets and, on some nights, very good memories indeed.<br /><br />Isn't it incredible that in this "NOW" we have the technology to reach out across space and glimpse the lives of other searchers? Our cyber search is not without peril and we need to be mindful not to be beguiled by the silver tongued devils sitting at their keyboards, spinning webs. But we are strong, wise, mature women in the 21st century and, as such, must not allow our lives to be defined by the popular media or by shocked friends. I am so blessed that my friends are standing on the side lines, cheering me on! My MostBelovedDaughterinLaw is the cheerleader and my son just chuckles at the blog. We shared an apartment while he was in college and I was in graduate school, complete with secret message on the door when one of us was engaged in private activity.<br /><br />I have expanded my horizons and am now listed on six online search sites: e-harmony (hookup in my previous posts), Senior Match.com (silvermatch), Plenty of Fish (fishy fishy), Senior Friend Finder, BBW.com and Cupid. Senior March and BBW.com are part of the same company. In fact, you may be amazed at the variety of sites out there; just google online dating sites and revel in the diversity. Some sites will allow you to "lurk", that is, to view the profiles but not to make any contacts, which is downright frustrating. Expect to pay from $10 per month to $40/50 and the companies want your payment in a lump sum. Be sure you print out your receipt so you can track your membership time because all agreements contain an automatic renewal feature. You may no longer be online but your credit card keeps giving and giving and there are no refunds. There are some information sites on the web where you can sometimes find promotion codes used by the industry or information about how you can get in on a "special" rate. It's your money, shop around.<br /><br />I have now been at this for close to two months so I have a few opinions to share. I have terminated my membership in e-harmony at the end of this month. Of the matches they delivered, more than two-thirds were out of state and far, far away. Their paperwork was burdensome and I found that, after spending a good portion of a day completing the forms, they still sent me matches who were not suitable and responsive to my requests. If I state that my politics are liberal with a capital L why send me a match with a man whose favorite author is Billo the Clown and thinks F-x News is a real "news" network??? At first, you are not allowed to have any direct contact with the match and can only exchange programed questions back and forth as to your likes and dislikes. Admittedly I never got beyond that stage. Someone else may feel secure in the layers of protection between you and the matches.<br /><br />I like Senior Match.com and have written about the wonderful feature where you see a slide show of men from which you can select profiles you wish to read and consider making a contact. On this site, you can send a flirt (which I liken to a "ping". Remember the scene from the Hunt for the Red October, where Sean Connery orders the helmsman to send a single ping against the hull of the US sub? ) Or you can start right out and send a message like: hey your profile really grabbed me and I want to make mad passionate love with you! OK, just say something nice about the way they write or that you have interests in common. Don't rush to give out your private information or e-mail; keep it on the site for a while. In fact, I suggest you set up a separate e-mail for your dating correspondence. I use gmail.com or hotmail.com. Set up the account with your profile name. That way when you are ready for further communication, you still have a shield for your personal life, plus you can use a protective password to keep the unwanted out of your affairs.<br /><br />BBW.com is part of the same company as Senior Match and is aimed at the big and beautiful, or as I prefer, Rubenesque. I don't lie and say I have a few pounds too many when I am really an armful. In fact, I don't lie about anything on my profile. In my book, relationships shouldn't begin with lies.<br /><br />Plenty of Fish.com is also a pretty good site. There are lots of local men on it. Same format as SeniorMatch, join, post your profile and go from there.<br /><br />Senior Friend Finder is OK. I am finding some overlap in matches. I recognize the same faces and profiles.<br /><br />I just joined Cupid.com. Don't laugh, I subscribe to the magazine "Bust" and received an e-mail about their "personal ads." Since I am miles along the road beyond their usual readers, personal ads won't work for me but they did have a link for Cupid.com. My advice would be to pass on it. Mostly for people under 40, unless you are trolling for a new model. By the way, if this is the case, there's a number of "cougar" sites out there. Just Google: older women / younger men or "cougars" and sign up.<br /><br />I haven't used Yahoo.com but have lurked on it. It might work for you since it contains local seekers. No filters or bars, just post and get it on.<br /><br />Expectations: the number of men in the mature age bracket is finite. After a couple of weeks, you will be looking at the same faces and asking yourself, "Did I check this guy out?" I am registered in a mature age group and have defined my search as men from 60 thru 80. Even though I gave that parameter, I still get matches for men in their 40s. You will also find that many of our potential matches request to be matched with a younger women, slim/sexy women, baby dolls to be pampered, etc. It is a bit hard to read a profile that really sparks my interest, only to find that he wants a young, "girly" woman.<br /><br />You may find it hard to "put yourself out there" and make the first contact. It's OK to sit back and "lurk" for a while until you feel comfortable. Remember that on all of these sites, when you peek at a profile, the potential match gets a notice and your profile goes on his message page. You can always pull up the list of who has looked at you as well as the profiles you have viewed. I always wonder about some guys who look at me a number of times but never contact me. Expect that some of your outreaches will be rebuffed, some will be ignored and never answered but, every now and then, you may find a new friend. Don't be discouraged and don't make the search your entire life.<br /><br />Other words of wisdom: beware of guys who are "legally separated" and don't post a photo of themselves. Watch out for profile names. You usually don't use your real name for your profile; I am Granny Boogies, Granny B and NVHeart on my profiles. If you find a profile name like 694U or Buttlover, you might want to take a pass. You also might want to skip the profiles without any personal information, where the answers are "just send me a message." Watch out for guys who take photos of themselves in their bathrooms. Keep a sense of humor, remember men are both wonderful and strange. Use common sense: first dates in a public place and let someone know where you are. Yes, we are grownups so let's use our grownup smarts.<br /><br />Now, for an update: I found two men who held great interest for me but when I contacted them, they were already taken. They started me thinking, they are both out-of-the-box men, left of center or maybe so far out they have their own center. I don't know exactly how to describe them. Men who have chosen to live in far out places in homes filled with books, music, animals and no superbox stores in sight. I am very attracted to this type of different drummer marchers. I am drawn to men of words, dreams and visions who wear their hair long and live in Berkie's and jeans. But I am also drawn to men who work with their hands, creating athings of beauty that will last beyond them and enrich the lives of those who live with these creations. These men may not be verbal, their souls are expressed in their work. I am looking for a strong man with a gentle touch and a sense of humor who will talk and listen to me. Life is funny and most of us fart in bed.<br /><br />So life goes on and so does Granny. Time and tide wait for no woman but if I miss this tide, there is always another one tomorrow. My advice to anyone beginning on this journey: take a long view and have some fun along the way.Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-19094410182985478422009-07-24T14:09:00.000-07:002009-07-25T01:00:51.236-07:00Granny is still on the Highway, just pulled into a rest stop to clean out the car!Thanks to all of you who have wondered why I haven't posted in a while. I wish I had something wonderful to tell you, well actually I do but it doesn't involve a man.<br /><br />Most Wonderful Daughter in Law and I were accepted as Artisan Jewelers for the annual Art in the Park show in Boulder City. This is THE premier show in Nevada with over 300 artists and an estimated attendance of 100,000 people. We had originally been denied and told ourselves that we would make it next year. About a week later, we received an e-mail asking us to resubmit photos of our work, our booth layout from a previous show and some shots of our workspace. It was a loooong wait. Late in the afternoon of July 14, the e-mail arrived: WE WERE ACCEPTED!! I don't think I had any sleep for two days. Haven't been that high since ... hummm, let's don't go there.<br /><br />I had been playing around with some design ideas that I call "Not your granny's pearls" and stashing away very special pearls for some time. Oh what glory and riches spread out across my work table. Coin pearls in white, green and yellow. Petal pearls in vivid Kelly green and an intriguing shade of dark gray with an overtone of gold and pink. Austrian and Chinese crystals in little plastic boxes stacked in a shimmering rainbow of color. Clasps and spacers of silver and gold. For the next four days, I was glued to the work bench with lights blazing, glasses perched on my nose, sometimes dressed in shorts and T shirt or sleep shirts in the middle of the night. I would work until my eyes gave out and then design in my sleep, get up and go back to the bench. Finally, I crashed and slept for an entire day.<br /><br />We are excitedly planning our booth. The show is October 3 & 4 so our theme will be Fall with autumn leaves and fall flowers combined with many of the design elements that we have been collecting. MWDL plans to have over a 100 earrings for our revolving rack. We have more than enough items containing pearls in various shapes to fill a six foot table and still have stock for the second day. From formal and dressy to funky and fun, we have something for everyone. Another six foot table will display our passion for the colors, shapes and textures of stones: agates, carnelian, lava, jasper, jade, turquoise, coral, citrine, amethyst, tiger eye, ryolite and so many more. Designs using various types of glass, ceramic and metal beads will fill the third table. Well, there is a lot of overlapping in materials so we will place things where they fit best. You have the general idea: a treasure tent of wonderful, unique, one of a kind jewelry for you or someone you love. We don't know the location of our booth yet but not to worry; you will get all the details and maybe some photos before the show!<br /><br />If you want a sneak peak and maybe an early purchase, check out our web sites:<br />http://www.outofourminds.etsy.com or http://www.outofourminds.artfire.com.<br /><br />Friends and family receive 10% off any one item, just send us an e-mail to outofourminds@yahoo.com after you purchase and we will provide an adjusted invoice.<br /><br />Another post is floating around in my head. Back at you shortly!<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-20112754778404955942009-07-06T16:32:00.000-07:002009-07-06T23:39:03.855-07:00Scorecard #2The latest update on my adventures in online dating: it's been a month now and not only am I not in love, I'm not even in like! Well, that may not be completely true. I have crossed messages with some very nice men, who for one reason or another, were just not for me. I reply to their contacts with what I hope are graceful words that make them feel that reaching out to me has not been mocked; that there is a real person on this keyboard who hopes they will find the special woman their heart desires.<br /><br />Life has been more interesting. Several times a day, I check to see the men delivered by the Internet into my desktop. This little message dropped in last week:<br /><br />"Hi...Just wanted to let you that you really do look like a very cute lady...I loved your look and the twinkle just says it all.......I am very much attracted to ladies of your age and size. I know that you might find that strange but it is true! ...I do have photos of myself but unfortunately not on this site...I am so dam handsome that if my photo was on here, I would be buried with emails from ladies waiting to meet me ...I don't have time to respond to them."<br /><br />I checked out his profile which gave no personal info except that he was interested in a casual relationship and was legally separated. OH YEAH! It took me about three seconds to start typing: "Dear XXXXX, I may have a twinkle in my eyes but I also have a brain between my ears and I really don't feel that we are a match! Granny B"<br />OK, so I'm not always graceful and polite.<br /><br />Then there has been the strangest messages from three different men in different parts of the United States. The first was a very touching message from someone, in upstate New York, who described himself as widower whose wife died suddenly and tragically leaving him with a 17 year old son. He said he had studied the course in Electrical Engineering and had a Masters. He was looking for a last love and willing to relocate to find happiness for himself and his son. There was a photo on the profile of a nice looking fellow, light skinned with dark hair. A couple of days later, a second message came in from someone in LA. He had several photo's, said he was Irish with blond hair and blue eyes and the photos were very attractive. Funny thing, the message was almost word for word the same as the guy in New York! This one claimed to have studied the course of Economics and obtained an Masters from Oxford in London! While I was pondering how and when Oxford moved from Cambridge to London, here came a third message from someone in the MidWest. Message was nearly word for word as the previous two. I forwarded them with the profile names to the dating site as a possible scam and requested they be blocked from any contact with me. The next time I looked, all three profiles had been deleted from the site. <br /><br />Then there is a dear little man (in his 80's) in a small town in New Mexico who views my profile and photo nearly every day. I think he has sent four or five flirts and I just reply to tell him that I hope he finds someone closer. The other day I saw a new profile without a photo but with the same identity tag. He had changed his age and changed his life experiences but I knew it was him. Sure enough, this new persona checked out my photo. It's nice to wonder if I am a fantasy for him.<br /><br />Remember a number of years back all the discussion about men getting in touch with the expressive side of themselves. Well, for the most part, on dating services, they have succeeded! Everyday I read such tender words of hope and longing. If these offerings of eternal love and delight are true, then there are a whole lot of lonely and unhappy people out there in the cyber world. I've been thinking about this for the past week, do I need a someone in my life to make me complete? No, I don't think so. I need and want a someone to add to my life and my happiness in the little ways. A foot rub with lotion at night, pot of coffee when I wake in the morning, the glance exchanged when we "get" the same thing at the same time. If I don't find this person, I know that I can make my own coffee and laugh at Keith Oberman by myself. It just would be nice...<br /><br />Scorecard: I have cancelled "hookup". I don't like their system and as I have said before, couldn't figure out why they sent me matches who like Billo the Clown. I am still on "silvermatch" and like their program. I have also joined "fishyfishy" and am getting a number of Nevada prospects from them. I may try some other sites. I know some of you have expressed concern that I don't know what I am doing. What can I say, you're right but I am learning as I go and also doing my due diligence on the whole subject of Internet dating. The latest book that I finished is: "I Love You...Let's Meet" by Virginia Vitzthum (Little, Brown and Company: 2007). An interesting take by a smart woman who just wanted more in her life. I have also read a great deal from the Internet and personal blogs. Hey, I made it through my first month, stick with me kid! Granny B is still on the road to a last love...<br /><br />Thanks for all your support. Please feel free to leave a comment below. Oh yes, pass this on!Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-74639497982220882462009-06-27T15:21:00.000-07:002009-06-27T16:37:55.605-07:00Sexy Panties or Granny on a panty raid!OK, I did it or rather we did it together. MWDL was wandering thru the Mall, shopping for a bridal shower gift and found a store having a terrific sale on ladies lingerie that was not Victoria's Secret. She immediately called me and asked what I was doing and did I want to meet her and a friend at the Mall to shop.<br /><br />At the time, I was sitting on the floor of my Vet's examining room, assisting her in re wrapping Elwood Blues surgical incision. Greyhounds have very thin tight skin. Even small cuts often require stitches and he had a tumor removed from just above his foot. I prefer to participate in my critter's treatment so I am holding his head on my lap and steadying his leg while she treats and wraps. <br /><br />Yes! As soon as I can take the pup home and get him settled, I am good to shop. Cell phones are so wonderful, I walk into the mall and call to see where they are. We meet and head to what she describes as a terrific sale.<br /><br />But let's back up for a minute. Prior to signing up for online dating, there were a number of discussions with friends about whether I was ready for actual dating. At one point, I jokingly remarked that maybe I wasn't, after all I no longer had any sexy underwear. During the last number of years I had just switched to plain Costco cotton. One younger friend couldn't understand: "Don't you buy sexy panties just for yourself?" I didn't, they reminded me of what I didn't have and how much I had lost in my life. Now, even though I am not yet dating, it was time to do something just for me.<br /><br />We walked into the lingerie shop, cool white walls lines hung with racks of pastel lacy items, interspersed with patches of wild color. They really were having a Sale with a capital "S". Nearly all of the panty stock had been placed in white octagon boxes placed at different shelf levels and grouped by size. We found the appropriate sizes and begin to dig into the boxes, holding up various styles and colors for discussion. Three different women, different ages, different shapes, different tastes. In no time, we had the surfaces filled with possible choices and were exchanging panties, asking each other to find the model in another color or size. The staff just smiled and let us do our thing. Other people came and went, politely asking if we were finished with a box so they could shop. Occasionally someone might see an item we were discussing, join in and ask if we could find another one for them. We did if we could. By now the clerks were laughing and checking to see if there was any stock that hadn't been put out. With a bottle of wine, it would have been a good party!<br /><br />Each bought to our own needs. Mine included silky rose with ivory lace, red satin with wild flowers, figured blue with white lace, beige and lace, cream and lace and an absolutely wild tangerine lace.I needed to leave the past and head into the future reminded that I am a sexy lady. Now when I am wearing my shorts, jeans, T shirts and crocs, I know what I am wearing under them and I smile!<br /><br />Anybody out there remember the Stephanie Plum novel set in Las Vegas where Lulu throws the hot pink thong at the Elvis impersonator? Well I'm still looking for hot pink! But no thongs please, there are just some places where I don't want to go!Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-39657955964376483822009-06-24T11:18:00.000-07:002009-06-24T13:25:38.127-07:00From the Wellspring of my mindLast night I attended the monthly meeting of the artisan craft group to which MostWonderfulDaughterinLaw (MWDL) and I belong. Admission to this group is by the jurying of your particular craft, which for us is artisan jewelry. Our definition of artisan jewelry is that each piece is unique, one of a kind and handmade by us. Due to the advancing of my degenerative arthritis, I can't do the finishing, that is putting clasps on my pieces so MWDL assumes that task for me.<br /><br />We work in what was once my den, now called the sweat shop. Each of us has a work station set up with an overhead shop light and an additional full spectrum standing lamp.We share materials but each has her own private stash. One of my loves is to work with fresh water pearls and right now I am working on a series of necklaces that I call "Not your Grandmother's pearls". I am striving for fresh contemporary designs. I also love non-precious gem stones like agates, jasper, jade, carnelian, lava, fluoride and others. The cut, shape and textures of stones is a real turn on for me and a challenge to create a design which shows the stones to their best advantage. This act of creating is still a wonder to me.<br /><br />This discussion is going somewhere, I promise. About three years ago, our family was in Flagstaff. Now I have a passion for Native American Art, particularly Katsinas and MWDL and I were cruising galleries and shops. She also is a collector. After a couple of hours of this, she mentioned that she wanted to visit a yarn shop and a shop called Animas Beads that were just down the street. So it was my turn to explore her interests. The yarn shop didn't do anything for me; I wandered down to the bead store. <br /><br />I had never been in such a store before and was dazzled by the colors and diversity of the beads and carvings. I was particularly drawn to a display of Baltic amber beads and chips and before I even thought about it, I bought two strands of amber. They were so smooth, light and beautiful and I had no idea what I would do with them. Sometime later that night, Kim slipped out of the hotel for a walk and returned with a set of beading tools and a bead board for me.<br /><br />On a subsequent trip to Flag, I bargained for several hand carved cedar North West Coast style pendants, signed by the Canadian artist. I also purchased a couple of dichroic glass pendants from GlenGarry Glass. Now I had to do something with my investment and I begin to design a necklace which I would call "Beaver in the Woods".<br />It is centered by a North West Coast style cedar pendant of a beaver with deep green chunky glass, wood beads, amber, pipestone and coral. Having spent years believing I had no creative gift, I was on my way!<br /><br />Those two stings of amber have grown into a way of creative life in which I express through the work of my hands, the dreams that I see in my mind. Many a night, a design will start tugging at the edge of my brain and I have to get up and lay out the design on a bead board or I will not sleep.<br /><br />Back to the beginning of this post. When I walked into the meeting, the topic of conversation was my blog. Everyone was most complimentary and there was much discussion of my last post on the younger man / older woman situation. I have given some thought since I posted and finally blocked him from any contact. Three contacts in three weeks, two of which came after I had expressed no interest in him, felt more like stalking or harassment than being wooed. It isn't that I oppose the idea of a younger man, in fact, I will not be surprised if I end up with someone slightly younger (he has to like my car and sing my tunes with me, I need that ole time rock and roll to sooth my soul). As I said it will depend on the man.<br /><br />My friends were also surprised at my writing ability. Prior to 1993, I have written short stories and poetry for myself. I always wrote the descriptive introductions for Gordon's briefs when we were doing litigation support for complex cases. But in 1993, it all came to an end.<br /><br />In the middle of a very difficult case, I developed a headache on a Friday afternoon. I remember most of what happened until about the following Tuesday night when MWDL came to pick up her baby (Tuesdays were Granny's play day with the baby) and I complained about my head. My next memory is waking up in the recovery room at a local hospital. I had undergone five and a half hours of brain surgery after Gordon found me comatose in the bathroom early Friday morning. It was a very close call but I survived with some minimal damage, well two drill holes in my head and a ton of staples. With time, words and then sentences came back. But my ability to write creatively seem to be gone forever and I mourned my dreams of someday writing a series of murder mystery's, my favorite genre. The doctor also said that I would never work again and restricted me from driving.<br /><br />In time, I began to drive again (anyone who ever rode when Gordon was driving understands that I had to drive myself or spend the rest of my life clutching the dashboard and screaming) I worked for the Nevada Democratic party and briefly for Friends of Harry Reid. Then I spent over eight years working for one of the most prominent real estate developers in Nevada. Since he retired, I have been mostly unemployed. One of these days, our economy will recover and I will return to some type of job. <br /><br />In the last two years, I have healed from Gordon's long goodbye. My world view has changed and I truly believe that when one door closes, another will open if you wait and look for it. Here, after so many years, the ability to write has returned to my life. When the time is right, a very special man will come and be my last love.<br /><br />In the meantime, Granny will keep her boogie going!<br /><br />You may find our work at www.outofourminds.etsy.comGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-58138424378876982482009-06-21T11:30:00.000-07:002009-06-21T13:24:27.810-07:00Younger Men / Older WomenI don't feel quite ready to write this post yet. I intended to do more reading on the subject but on "silvermatch" yesterday I was hit on for the third time by a guy in his early 40's!<br /><br />He is a cute guy with curly hair and posts three photos of himself making faces. In the background are two large overflowing bookcases. His profile contains the usual stuff, looking for someone special (aren't we all), wants long term relationship, divorced with no children,and so on. After the first contact, I sent a nice reply stating that he is younger than my son and I am just not that adventurous. Told him that I hoped he would find his soul mate.<br /><br />A week later, he's back. This time I replied: "Hey Guy, you are consistent and I am flattered. You sent me a flirt on June 6th and I replied that I am just not ready for a guy who is younger than my son. So good luck, maybe you will find one of the cougars with money and time who will spoil you. I am looking for a guy in my age group so we can sing the same songs." I'm not going to reply this time, just block him from contacting me again.<br /><br />But his advances do bring up an interesting question for me. What age range am I considering? My birth certificate makes me 69. My photos show a little round silver haired woman who looks like Mrs. Claus. I drive around in a tricked out car with rock and roll playing at full blast. Yes, my interest is sex is very healthy and I certainly have been educating myself on mature sex.<br /><br />I thought about this last night. The world of relationships has just about turned upside down since I grew up in the 50's and 60's. Yes, I have hangups about sex with a really younger man. What if he called out "Hot Mama" as he was coming? I would freak out! So maybe I need to give myself a base line of "50 something" and then it all depends on the man. I welcome your thoughts, you can leave comments or e-mail me at GrannyBoogies@gmail.com.<br /><br />Somewhere, out there......Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-61102915935563360972009-06-19T10:05:00.000-07:002009-06-19T15:58:29.532-07:00OMG, I'm an Antique!I have developed quite an interest in the photos that men post on "silvermatch". If you are just discovering this blog, check out my riff on fish photos. A couple of days ago, I came across a really interesting photo: an attractive man standing beside this strange very large machine. The more I looked, the curiouser I became. Finally I sent off one of my "this is not a flirt" messages and asked if the machine was a steam tractor. This very nice man, whose privacy I shall preserve, responded and said he didn't mind a chat. The machine is indeed a steam tractor, in fact, it is a 1895 Russell and he introduced me to the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum (www.agsem.com)located in Vista, California, that's in northern San Diego county. <br /><br />This little museum is a great place for anyone who is interested in steam engines, a terrific place to take your family or yourself if you have an interest in how America lived at the turn of the century. Situated on 55 acres, there is a complete farm along with educational programs showing the process of food preparation from harvest to table. In the "Farmhouse" they show how a family lived with kerosene lamps, ice boxes, foot treadle sewing machine and more. This weekend they are having their 33rd Spring Tractor Show. There is camping and live entertainment. In March you will find a Civil War Reenactment event, complete with a visit by President Lincoln and a presentation of the Gettysburg Address.<br /><br />Reading the descriptions made me smile and gasp! There was one year in my life when my stepfather had the idea that he wanted to join his family who were farmers in Ohio and Michigan. He left the Army and packed us off on this new adventure. We lived in a summer cottage on a small lake. This means that it was only intended for summer use and we lived there for nearly a year. There was electricity in the cottage but the "facility" was a chemical toilet outside in a tiny outhouse. Ugh! I walked about a mile every day with other children to a one room school house (grades one thru six). My lunch was carried in a cloth bag and included a bottle of milk that I cooled in the creek behind the school house. Yes, there were two outhouses. I was left handed which was most inconvenient with the long shared tables. The teacher reacted by striking my hand with a hickory stick until I could no long write left handed and had to learn to use my right hand. Well, that was then and this is now!<br /><br />I have good memories of that time. Watching men cut ice from the frozen lake, loading it on a large horse pulled sleigh to be stored in the local ice house. This same ice was delivered to our little cottage and placed in the ice box to cool our food. I wandered the woods around the lake and found the first wild violets of spring that I picked for my mother. One of the neighbors had a pet raccoon and we had so much fun with him. I had the experience of living a simple life in tune with the seasons.<br /><br />While my mother was in the hospital having my brother, I stayed on one of the family farms. There was a crank phone on the wall. No dial, you picked up the hearing cup, rotated the crank on the side and when the operator answered, you told her who you wanted to call. She placed the call by sending a series of rings to the phone of the other person. Each phone on the system has their own ring. One long, two shorts or any combination. Sitting in your home when the phone rang you knew who was being called. If you were a a nosy neighbor,you might (every so carefully)lift the receiver and ease drop on the conversation.<br /><br />The farmhouse had a well with a hand pump. You carried a pitcher or pan of water out to the pump and poured the water (prime) down the throat. Then you pumped like hell and the prime pulled the water up from the well and into your bucket. When you had enough, you simply stopped pumping. I remember walking out to the fields with lunch for my stepfather. Sometimes I would get to ride on the tractor. It was great fun to perch up behind him and watch the plow turn the deep rich brown earth. <br /><br />At the end of a year, my parents decided to return to military and life in the mid 1940's. Army life had its hardships but it also had a modern,up to date lifestyle.<br /><br />So back to the Vista museum. As I read the descriptions of the educational programs, I realized I have experienced much of what they are teaching. Then it hit me: OMG I am an antique!! <br /><br />No, I'm not giving Bogiebx up for a Ford fliver and I plan to continue full speed down the highway of life looking for my last love. I just may take a few detours along the way. Thank you, new friend, for your introduction to the museum and helping to prime the pump of memory.<br /><br />On the road again...Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-16864550856180926822009-06-15T20:01:00.000-07:002009-06-16T10:10:29.559-07:00My Inner Child had a playdate today.I should begin at the beginning. In 2005, I was driving a Dodge Neon. I have had much better cars and also much worse and it got me to work and around town. The computer started being funny, doors would lock and unlock, sometimes it wouldn't start and the idea occurred to me that I needed to pass it on before the repairs began to eat me alive.<br /><br />One early evening, I was driving in the parking lot at my neighborhood Costco and I saw this funny white box. I hit the brakes, parked and got out to take a look. It was love at first sight. During the '60's, I had one of the first VW bugs in the Imperial Valley. It really belonged to my brother in law who was overseas but my sister didn't drive and I just had to keep the battery charged. In my heart I felt a relationship between the funny blue bug and this strange white box. I had to have one!<br /><br />I began an online search, checking the inventory of the various Scion/Toyota dealerships in Las Vegas. The Xb's were hard to find and not easily available but about the middle of February I found one. On the next Saturday,for my 65th birthday present to myself, I waltzed in with my dear husband and bought it. The dealer referred me to a private party for a custom alarm and locking system and I made an appointment for the following day.<br /><br />Big Bill worked out of his garage. When we arrived, he had pulled his own Xb into a parking space and I parked next to it. I took one look at his car and said "OMG how can I do that". He looked at this little silver haired lady and said "Do you really want to do this! It's called modding or tricking out your car." "Yes, you bet I do", I replied and life has not been the same since.<br /><br />I named the car "Bogiebx" (aka Boogie) since I was limited in letter/number space for a custom plate. In Nevada, when you request a custom plate, you have to give a specific reason for what you want, so I said I was a silver haired Granny who just wanted to boogie down the road playing her tunes. I got the plate!<br /><br />Big Bill was a member of a group known as "Scion Evolution" which had chapters all over the US. Most of the members got a kick of this ole lady modding her car and Bill got me some really good deals. In time Boogie went from stock to mod. We lowered her an inch with TRD (Toyota Racing Division) springs, put on custom Koenig rims (wheels to you), limo tinted her windows, installed a carbon fiber "fat ass" spoiler and a double vented, two sided carbon fiber show hood. The list goes on and on. Needless to say, Granny and Bogiebx became pretty well known in California and Nevada. This was the greatest group of car lovers, both guys and gals who really loved these funny rolling boxes and saw in them the opportunity to express themselves and make the cars their own.<br /><br />As Gordon's Alzheimer's progressed, I cut back my activities and stopped working on my car. The last couple of years have been very difficult financially and emotionally. A car like Boogie needs constant upkeep and my heart hasn't been with her. Bill has been gently nudging me and doing what he could to keep her going. About a year ago, he removed the "fat ass" carbon fiber spoiler since it wasn't holding up in the heat. He also found a fellow who wanted my show hood and arranged an exchange for a metal hood. Friends in LA called from a garage sale and wanted to know if I wanted to go back to an OEM style spoiler; they purchased one and sent it up by Scion mule train.I carried it in the back seat for nearly a year. Bill arranged to have it painted the same black as the hood by a new friend, Ben, who had seen Boogie on the street and asked in a car club post if anyone know who owned her. <br /><br />All of this brings me to today. Boogie and I had a play date with Bill this morning after he took his darling wife, Lizzy, to work. He waxed the spoiler and installed it, installed the fluid system for the windshield wiper fluid, we pulled the new grill and I paste waxed it. He worked on the paint streaks left by a scam artist who ran into me on a bicycle in January, bounced off my front fender and tried to hold up my insurance company. Then we took her out to a car wash and hosed her down. Tomorrow I will take her in for a detail job. Bill checked out my sound system and at some point we will upgrade it. I only know one volume, cranked up! Give me that old time Rock n Roll with Bob Segar or some Blue Eyes with Willie Nelson, maybe Bag Pipes playing Scotland the Brave, even Placido Domingo with John Denver! I love my tunes!!! To and from the car wash, the system is cranked and Bill just looks at me and shakes his head. <br /><br />OK, my body may be 69, my hair may be silver and I may look like Mrs. Santa but what you see isn't what you get and my inner child comes out to play whenever she wants!<br /><br />Boogie On Granny! There is still life in this ole gal and I believe, one last love!Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-38436393231073283752009-06-13T12:23:00.000-07:002009-06-13T13:23:44.160-07:00Score Card #1Wow, the blog is now one week old! I hope most of you are still with me. There have only been two requests to be removed from the blog alert.This seems like a good time to stop and review my stats. I wish I had someone to compare with so I would know how I am batting but here goes:<br /><br /> Silvermatch:I have viewed the profiles of 201 men.I did mention that I have a problem sleeping didn't I? Don't want you to think I sit around all day glued to my monitor, nah, I sit around all night and count men instead of sheep. 71 men have reviewed my profile, 10 men have sent me a message opening contact and 6 men have sent a "flirt" which just says they are interested and the ball is in my court to reply if I chose.<br /><br /> "Hookup":There have been a total of 43 matches sent to me. 11 are still open, which means that I haven't contacted the match nor has the match contacted me. 32 matches have been closed either by the match or by me. One match was opened but since I wasn't enrolled yet and couldn't respond, he closed it. This is the site which touts how well they can match you to the object of your desire. Ha! I clearly state my political stance in my profile so why do they keep sending me guys who say that their hero is Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater or the last book they read was by Billo the Clown? I wonder if "hookup" knows something that I don't?<br /><br />While I was spinning the carousel of profiles the other night, I ran across a photo that puzzled me, so I clicked it open. The first photo was a head shot of a smiling person with long grey/brown hair and glasses named "BESTOINK". I checked out the rest of the photos; verrry interesting. The second photo is of the person, dressed what looks like a WWII German uniform perched on an old motorcycle with a M16 or maybe an AK47 in the arms. Other photos show pets identified as children, a woman in similar German style clothing;the last photo was a home with bright lavender shutters and door. OKay....The written profile was over the top macho and funny as hell. I went back and looked again at the face and immediately started sending messages asking for return communication but no response. I just checked the site and the profile is still up. I'm curious how long it will be before someone figures out the lavender shutters and door! I love laughing out loud in the middle of the night.<br /><br />On the road again...<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-67187092122603161252009-06-11T11:06:00.000-07:002009-06-11T11:22:43.223-07:00Better Than I Ever Expected by Joan PriceI just finished my first read of this wonderful book subtitled "straight talk about sex after 60". This is not a sex manual, you know, he puts his leg here and you tilt your pelvis. No, this is a wise and gentle discussion about love in our mature years. About keeping communication open with our loved ones, feeling free to tell them what we want and need, about accepting our bodies and not letting the sterotypes of popular culture define us. As I said, this was my first read and I know I will go back and reread again and again. <br /><br />Thank you Joan for being there for all of us. You may contact Joan@JoanPrice.com or<br />http://www.betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com. Her books may be purchased directly from her or from Amazon.com.<br /><br />Don't think the wisdom in this book is only for us older gals, the need for open communication between lovers applies at any age. You young chicks might want to read this and see what you can look forward to!<br /><br />Granny BGranny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100627585091078393.post-8948389401940533242009-06-11T04:46:00.000-07:002009-06-11T07:00:39.775-07:00A Buffet of MenIf there is one thing we understand in Las Vegas it is the concept of the Buffet. That wonderful, stuff yourself senseless, endless presentation of food with steamtables of hot dishes, iced salad bars with fruit, greens, veggies, mounds of bread and then, when you can't take another bite, there is the desert table. Well "silvermatch" is a lot like a Vegas buffet.<br /><br />Never mind the 100, or so it seems, questionnaire of "hookup". With "silvermatch" you just set up an account and go. There is a profile space to reveal to the world your deepest yearnings for true and lasting love, discuss the mythical being you desire as a partner, set forth your life accomplishments to dazzle this unicorn which you hope to capture and upload your" here I am photo" (with or without fish). At least I think that's what women do. About half the time a guy's profile has no photo and under the fill in the blank portion; he just says "send me a message" or "I'll tell you later". No pretense of finding the perfect match, just pay your money and jump right in the pool.<br /><br />I told you in the last post about the slide show of men available on this site. I have no idea how many potential matches are available but it seems endless. You spin thru and when you find an interesting photo you click and open his profile. There is a format where the match answers some specific questions: how old he is, where he lives (city and state), how tall, body type, does he consider himself attractive (you betcha), what he did or does for a living, how much income he has ($300,000 per year, yeah - sure) martial state, what type of relationship he is seeking, etc. There is also a section for "new" members and another for "men in your area".<br /><br />Once you have opened an man's profile and taken a peek, you have the option of sending him a flirt greeting saying "I'm Interested" or sending him an e-mail message or doing nothing. When you open the members profile, your profile is placed in "viewed" folder on his site and if you have initiated contact, your message goes into his message box. There are various other options but I think you get the idea. No sneak peeks on either side; when you look he knows it and you know who has looked at you. Actually, I like this site, easy to use and generally fun to read.<br /><br />As a newbie, I've just been sitting back and checking out who is checking out me. I had a contact from a nice fellow here in town and we chatted but the differences were greater than the similarities. Since I joined on June 4th, 53 men have viewed my profile. I've become more comfortable in making contact and commenting on a guy's profile or photo. My MWDL described this as being like standing in a line at the Post Office and chatting with the person in front or behind you. There is a guy in northern Nevada who has one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen. His whole face crinkles, his eyes shine and his smile spreads across his face like butter on toast. Not handsome but wow what a grin. Also not a match for me but I send him a note and told him that just looking at his photo had me grinning at my monitor. He thanked me and wished me well in my search.<br /><br />Yesterday I found a photo of an "old geezer" holding a tiny puppy so I clicked on his profile. He had all the standard stuff and at the bottom he said "I bet you looked because of the puppy didn't you. Gotcha!". I wrote that I would rather look at a puppy than a fish any day and we have been chatting back and forth about a 200+ pound sturgeon that he caught in the Sacramento River in 1972. He said I made his day. Why not spread a little kindness here and there.<br /><br />Last night an "I'm interested" message arrived. I checked out the profile. OMG! This guy is in his early 40's, cut and buff - wow! I thought about it, really I did, but in the end I replied "Hey Guy, I checked out your profile. You are a hunka, hunka burning love. Cut and buffed beyond belief. Definitely an ole lady's wet dream. It would take me six months of pelvic exercises and a case of estrogen just to dance with you. Thanks for the ego boost, you made this silver haired gal smile."<br /><br />I think I'm getting into this.Granny Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467739019133959873noreply@blogger.com1